Mass Effect 3: Defiance until victory
by Darkstar1406
Summary: Commander Shepard is about to change the galaxy forever. But will he submit to the will of the Catalyst or will he continue to fight for the freedom of the galaxy from the threat of the Reapers? For all those of you who still disliked the ending of Mass Effect 3 after the extended cut I give you my fix. Rating is K for infrequent language.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors notes:**

Like a majority of the people who played Mass Effect 3 I was very disappointed with the ending. It completely destroyed the lore of the series and ruined its own thematic values. It made the characters act completely different to their usual persona's, none of our choices mattered and in the end it was overall very unfulfilling and disheartening.

Here are just a few of my problems with this ending:

First is the fact that we untimely fail to do what we set out to do and that is stopping the Reapers and the Reapers alone. The main arc of the story is almost completely dropped in favour of a poorly executed technological singularity plot point.

Next there is Harbinger, the main antagonist that was built up over the entire course of Mass effect 2 and was identified as Shepard's nemesis; his role is reduced to a cameo and basically him becoming a glorified hammer.

This goes for all the Reapers in the game. They go from being unstoppable Lovecraftian monsters that are supposedly beyond our comprehension; each which is unfathomably evil and intelligent, to pawns for a single backwards AI.

This actually made me feel bad for the Reapers.

Then there are the final choices of the game all of which are convoluted and twisted for the sake of trying to create in my opinion pointless drama within the last few minutes of the game. I believe what the writer was trying to do was make the player feel powerful by imposing his will on the galaxy.

In of itself that could have been a good idea; but where was the option that we all wanted? Where is the option to destroy the Reapers and the Reapers alone?

The game makes numerous points to show that both the Geth and EDI are completely different to the Reapers, despite the fact that they have Reaper code incorporated into them, both in terms of hardware and software. So why is it not possible to spare them from genocide in the destroy ending?

Not only that but why are we provided with an option that is counter to everything we have been fighting against for the past three games. That is control. This is the epitome of what we have been fighting with Cerberus over. And yet now at the end not only is that option a viable choice but it actually inflicts fewer casualties than the ending that kills the Reapers outright. This is extremely out of place both in terms of story and theme.

And then there is synthesis. Or space magic as it is more fondly known. This option in my opinion is the worst choice of all. This essentially forces unnecessary evolution upon everyone in the entire galaxy without their consent and is basically what Saren wanted in Mass Effect 1.

Rightly so the players were entitled to want a better ending. Then the Extended Cut was announced and again we fans could taste the hope in the air for a proper ending to our beloved series.

However when I played through the ending a second time after the Extended Cut was released I found that it didn't really fix any of the major plot holes that I just listed above. In fact it added to them in some cases.

Why didn't Harbinger just blow the Normandy out of the sky?

How did Anderson get to the control panel before us?

Why did Sovereign need to come to 'The Citadel' if the Catalyst is the controller of 'The Reapers'?

All of these questions are still left unanswered. But I pressed on and finally came upon the reject ending.

Finally! There was an option for us to reject 'The Catalyst's' choices and find a new way to stop the cycle. Now we could clearly and logically point out the flaws in the Catalyst's reasoning and stop him and his senseless cycle of genocide and destruction. Or so I thought.

So I chose to keep fighting, to not bow to this AI's will or force my own upon the galaxy. I chose to do what Shepard had been doing for the past three games and reject the Catalyst's choices.

And for that I was literally booted out of the Mass Effect series. All those of you who, like me, chose the reject ending were kicked out of the Mass Effect universe as our beloved galaxy, friends and characters that we had all grown to care and love where simply wiped out while we stood back and watched it happen.

And that was the final straw for me. It actually hit me like a physical blow and I felt like this entire amazing saga had all been for nothing.

I then turned to the internet for solace and found this fan fiction website. Spending hours reading through these fantastic works of dedication, many of which were better than the actual endings themselves, I was inspired to write my own.

So this is for all those of you who were left with a hole in your heart and a bitter taste in your mouth with the end of Mass Effect 3 and the Extended Cut dlc. This is for those of you who wanted a satisfying and thematically appropriate ending to this otherwise spectacular saga.

The reason it has taken so long to post up here is because I have never written a fan fiction before, again a testament to how much this series means to me, but now finally I feel I have found a way to resolve almost all of the plot holes I have mentioned.

Again I want to reiterate how much I do enjoy the Mass Effect series; it was directly responsible for me choosing to take a university degree in computer games design, and it is my hope that maybe, just maybe, that this fan fiction will be read by a member of the Bioware team working on the new dlc for Mass Effect 3 and could possibly be implemented. Because if it was I would most certainly be willing to pay for it and I'm sure I'm not alone.

This is in my opinion how Mass Effect 3 should have ended and is a combination of both the refusal option and the destroy option. While I think that the Indoctrination Theory was a brilliant idea this will not be an Indoctrination story.

On one last note I don't own Mass Effect or any of its characters. If I did this is what would have happened.

* * *

So with my fan boy rant over here is a little background on my actual character and his journey:

**Name:** Commander John Lewis Shepard

**Class:** Adept but for this fan fiction will have a bit of Vanguard mixed in.

**Reputation:** Paragade. Mostly a Paragon who made paragon choices with a few bits of a badass Renegade mixed in. Because that's the only kind of person who can save both the galaxy and the ending of Mass Effect 3.

**Service record:**

Spacer

War hero

**...  
**

**Mass effect 1 choices:**

Spared the Rachnni queen.

Wrex survived Virmier.

Ashley Williams rescued on Virmier.

Saved the council.

Made Anderson humanities councilor.

Romanced Liara T'soni.

Completed all DLC content: Bring down the sky and Pinnacle station.

**...  
**

**Mass Effect 2 choices:**

All squad mates where loyal and survived the suicide mission.

All of the Normandy crew was rescued from the Collector Base.

Saved Malon's data.

Destroyed the Geth Heretics.

Destroyed the Collector base.

Romanced Miranda Lawson.

Completed all DLC content including Firewalker, Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival.

**...  
**

**Mass Effect 3 choices:**

Cured the Genophage with Wrex and Eve surviving.

Managed to talk Ashley down.

Made peace between the Geth and Quarians.

Romanced Miranda Lawson.

Only the minimum number of characters died: Mordin, Thane and Legion.

Completed all currently released DLC: From Ashes and Leviathan

Had a final EMS rating of 8138

With all that over let's get on with the main event. This is my first fan fiction and I don't have anyone to spell check or edit it but I hope you like it. It will be told from a mixture of both first and third person perspectives and I have marked all the plot points I have changed with numbers which will correlate to explanations at the bottom of the page for why I have changed them. By all means feel free to offer **constructive** criticism and feedback.

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: Earth**

**London Conduit **

We stood on the precipice of what remained of the road and took a moment to study the carnage before us. The ground in front just simply dropped down, like the edge of a crater, and led to a completely open and barren wasteland that only a few months ago would have been a bustling street in the heart of London.

Now all that remained were charred and smoking ruins with the bright blue beam of 'The Conduit', which was surrounded by three black obsidian-like pieces of machinery, being the only structures left standing at the far side.

We didn't have long to survey this scene of devastation before we heard the unmistakeable roar of another Reaper. The sound drowned out everything else trying to rob us of our will to fight. It was the sound of death itself, a sound that made you just want to curl up and hide somewhere and pretend that this was all some horrible nightmare that you'd wake up from. Only when the droning stopped we didn't wake up; because this nightmare was real.

Then right next to 'The Conduit' leading to 'The Citadel', and our only hope to end this once and for all, landed the massive hulking form of a Reaper capital ship.

But this Reaper was different; it was larger than any other we'd ever encountered, dwarfing even Sovereign in size, and at its head were four distinct yellow glowing eyes.

It had been nearly a year since I'd last seen those eyes but I recognized them immediately. I knew without a doubt which Reaper stood before us.

"Harbinger." I called out, knowing that it could hear me, both as a statement of defiance and a warning to my friends.

"_**Shepard**_." It replied singling me out amongst all the other soldiers that stood around me who looked terrified at the prospect of fighting a leviathan like Harbinger.

"**_Your inference end's here._**" It simply stated in a voice that could only belong to a monster that had murdered countless trillions.** (1)**

"I'm just getting started." I shouted back.

Harbinger didn't even bother to respond finally deciding to personally finish me itself. I could see the red glow coming from its main energy weapon as it prepared to fire.

"We've gotta move!" shouted Anderson.

I nodded before drawing my N7 Assault Rifle and began to charge down the hill with Anderson and my team right behind me.

I heard Major Coats over the Comm say _"All Hammer Squad's move up, get to that beam."_

Dozens of gunships and troop transports that made up the last remnants of Hammer charged forward quickly over taking me on foot. And that's when Harbinger began to attack.

It was like running straight into a fire storm as the Reaper rained destruction down upon us with its laser blasts. Gunships were blown out of the sky crashing down in front of us crushing several of the soldiers who were on foot. Tanks and transports were completely obliterated and reduced to flaming wrecks as the people inside were burnt alive.

Entire squads of soldiers were wiped out as Harbinger raked the open expanse in front of me. This wasn't a battle; it was a killing field.

I ran faster than I ever had before, my lungs burned from both the exertion and the smoke and ash that started to sweep across the wasteland.

Not ten feet in front of me another gunship crashed in pile of burning steel; the shock wave causing me to stagger for a moment. But I knew I couldn't stop. Stopping meant dying and I wasn't going to die today. I had a promise to keep to Miranda.

Shaking it off I dodged to the side and continued my mad dash towards 'The Conduit' losing my gun in process. At that moment I had a single thought in my head. Run.

Run, Run, Run. This same thought echoed in my mind blocking out all else. Dozens of blasts fired around me, each drone of Harbingers laser was a death gong for someone else but a few of us still managed to get closer and closer to 'The Conduit'. At this point I didn't know where Anderson or anyone else was or if they had already been killed. I just focused on the beam of light in front of me as it steadily got closer and closer.

In front of me a Hammerhead tank got hit by Harbinger and was reduced to a flaming wreck that careered right into my path. Without even thinking I Biotically charged through the hole in the smouldering vehicle and ran on.

Then another Hammerhead was flipped over in front of me and I slid to a stop behind it using it as cover while I looked back behind me.

I could see both Garrus and Liara running towards me with EDI, James, Javik, Ashley and Tali not far behind. But then it seemed as if Harbinger was following my gaze and another blast of from its energy beam hit a gunship that was directly above them.

I watched in horror as the scene unfolded in slow-motion as the ship crashed down right on top of the group; all of whom scattered, diving in multiple directions trying to avoid the flaming wreck that was upon them.

With an almighty crash the Gunship exploded as it hit the ground sending flying pieces of deadly shrapnel everywhere. One of which I saw hit Garrus squarely in his right side piercing his shields and armor. He collapsed to the ground and without thinking I rushed back towards him as the rest of the group was getting to their feet.

I helped my old friend up and was relieved to see that he was alive and awake but appeared to be in shock. As quickly as I could I got him to the relative safety that the Hammerhead provided while the rest of my squad followed suit behind similar wreckage.

"You guys ok?" I asked dreading their response.

"I've had worse..." Garrus deadpanned as I applied medi gel around his wound to stop the bleeding. But I didn't dare take the piece of shrapnel out for fear of causing more damage.

As I did this the rest of the group only offered a series if pained moans. Realising that they were all in bad shape I turned to EDI who was crouched next to me and asked "Where's the Normandy? I need Cortez to come and bring doctor Chakwas for a med evac."

Her robotic platform turned to me her visor flickering due to the damage it had sustained and in a broken voice filled with static replied "C... C… Currently in …. the lower atmosphere I… I… I have allreeeee…ady informed J…eff of our …s…situation and we are on route. "

"No!" I immediately shouted back over the roar of the battle taking place around us and the drone of Harbingers laser. "Belay that. Harbinger will just shoot you both out of the sky!" **(2)**

"Ssss…tealth sys…tems aaaare engaged and Harbinger..ger will prioriii...tise on target'ssss…. attacking the beam." EDI replied.

I looked back at my squad. Garrus with a piece of shrapnel embedded in his side. Then to Ashley, James and Javik all of whom were all riddled with smaller wounds, their armour badly buckled and dented. Liara and Tali had managed to escape mostly unharmed. However the face plate of Tali's helmet was cracked, but fortunately hadn't broken and Liara looked like she had a twisted ankle and was leaning on James for support.

Looking beyond them I saw that there were a few other injured survivors around the area all desperately taking cover and in need of immediate medical aid but there were too many of them to evac in the shuttle. I turned back to EDI and realised that she was missing an arm.

It may have been selfish but right then at that moment I didn't care. The Reapers were not going to take any more of my family today. Not if I could help it.

"All right." I grudgingly replied "Come in fast and quiet and tell Joker that he is not to attack in anyway. Is that understood?"

She nodded a response and I then heard and saw the Normandy coming in off in the distance flying well below the recommended minimum height for a frigate of her size.

As she came closer her cargo bay doors opened and she set herself down right next to us. EDI helped me get Garrus up and quickly move him onto the ramp of the ship while the rest of my crew and other survivors from the assault made it on-board as well.

For a moment I actually considered joining them and leaving the battle. Just to get back on-board my ship and run far, far away. But then I crushed that idea and told EDI to take Garrus to the Med bay. I then preceded to head back down the ramp.

"Shepard…" Garrus called out from behind.

I should have just kept on going but I couldn't. Turning back again I saw the rest of my team all gathered together battered yet defiant to the end.

I felt so proud of them in that moment, but I would not let them follow me to their deaths.

"You've got to get out of here." I said.

"And you've got to be kidding me." He replied using a quote that I had used many times myself.

"Don't argue with me Garrus." I half pleaded.

"We're in this till the end." He replied weakly his eye's shining and not from the pain of his injuries.

"Garrus… I need you to make out of here. I need to know that you all are going to make it out of here. Please." I said softly.

My oldest and closet friend looked straight at me and after a moment said in a commanding tone "Just make sure that includes you too. You always were the better shot."

For one moment I was taken back to that day on 'The Citadel' and then smiled back at him.

"Not by half. Take care Garrus. And the rest of you do the same." I said looking at the rest of my team.

They all looked back at me in silence. But their expressions said more than words ever could.

I gave them all a final reassuring nod before offering a quick two fingered salute and then ran back down the ramp and once more into the fight.

* * *

**Harbinger**

**Location: Earth**

**London Conduit **

**_Unit designation: Harbinger_**

**_Created 1087 million years ago from the race of beings known as the Leviathan's._**

**_Alert:_**

**_- Visual scan indicates new inbound frigate class ship approaching._**

**_...  
_**

**_Analyzing ship…_**

**_- Ship Identified._**

**_- SSV Normandy._**

**_- Shepard's ship._**

**_- It is attempting to extract casualties._**

**_...  
_**

**_Battlefield analysis…_**

**_- The ship is not engaging in active combat and poses no threat._**

**_- Forces assaulting 'Citadel' Transport Beam are a priority. (3)_**

**_Focusing attack on assaulting troops…_**

**_...  
_**

**_Alert:_**

**_- SSV Normandy has now moved out of range._**

**_- Shepard has been located._**

**_...  
_**

**_Battlefield Analysis..._**

**_- All other forces have been eliminated._**

**_- Terminate Shepard._**

**_Targeting…_**

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: Earth**

**London Conduit **

As I ran towards the beam once again I saw the Normandy take off and quickly move out of range disappearing back into the atmosphere.

At that I couldn't help but smile and think to myself 'Not today Harbinger. You won't kill any of them today. You'll die long before them if I have anything to say about it.'

That one reassuring thought made me move even faster. Closer. Closer. I was almost there. I'd almost made it.

But then Harbinger finally caught up with me.

"_**Shepard.**_" He cried again whether it was in anger or indifference I didn't know.

He looking directly at me and for a second everything was quite. It was as if the entire world had gone silent and was waiting on what Harbinger was about to say.

Then quite simply he uttered one word "_**Die!**_"

Just as I was within a dozen meters of the Conduit he fired another blast right in front of me.

Instinctively I dived to my right bringing my arms up to cover my face and at the same time threw up a Biotic barrier around myself to try to shield me from the blast, putting all my strength into it. **(4)**

But compared to Harbinger's attack it was like trying to hold back the tide with your bare hands.

I remember time slowing down and everything that happened next with crystal clear clarity. My barrier collapsed, followed a second later by my shields. Next I remember feeling agonizing pain as my armor took the remaining brunt of the blast. I was thrown back off my feet and I remember hearing my armor sizzle and crack as the extreme heat and force of the beam slammed into me; burning it off completely in some places.

I then hit the floor and blacked out.

* * *

**Harbinger**

**Location: Earth**

**London Conduit **

_**Analysis:**_

_**- All ground and air forces have been terminated.**_

_**- Status of Citadel Transfer beam: Secure**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Vigilance**_

_**Created 450 million years ago from the race of beings known as the Daraku.**_

_**- Has the Human known as Shepard been eliminated?**_

_**...  
**_

_**Performing search for life sign's:**_

_**- Searching…**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Devastator**_

_**Created 70 million years ago from the race of beings known as the Fellorn.**_

_**- Harbinger your presence is required immediately at spacial coordinates 103.987.344.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- For what purpose?**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Devastator**_

_**- A second fleet of ships is approaching 'The Citadel'.**_

_**- Scans indicate they are accompanied by a large construct that is emitting massive quantities of energy.**_

_**- The device appears to be 'The Crucible'.**_

_**...  
**_

_**-Search halted…(5)**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- What is its status?**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission**_

_**Source: Devastator**_

_**- Sending visual confirmation and scans of inbound device…**_

_**- We find it to be fully operational.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Analyzing scans…**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- Visual confirmed.**_

_**- Completed 'Crucible' presence confirmed.**_

_**- Disembarking from Earth.**_

_**- Preparing to engage the fleet protecting 'The Crucible'.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Vigilance**_

_**- What of Shepard?**_

_**...  
**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- Probability of Shepard's survival after the assault 5.128%.**_

_**- Remaining forces around Citadel transport beam more than sufficient to ensure its protection.**_

_**- The shutdown sequence for the Citadel transport beam has also been initiated. (6)**_

_**- It will be deactivated in 103.85 seconds.**_

_**- Harvesting operations will be postponed until the destruction of all incursion forces.**_

_**- None shall make it to 'The Citadel'. (7)**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Vigilance**_

_**- The one known as Shepard has defied our calculations before.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- We were alerted to 'The Crucible's' existence from the Human referred to as 'The Illusive man'.**_

_**- He is currently on board 'The Citadel' and will dispose of any remaining vestiges that make it to the master control unit.**_

_**- Current analysis indicates that the presence of 'The Crucible' now poses the more immediate threat.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission**_

_**Source: Observer**_

_**Created 140 million years ago from the race of beings known as the: Jarverral**_

_** - This cycle has been more resilient than any other previously.**_

_**- They defeated Sovereign.**_

_**- They defeated 'The Collectors'.**_

_**- They have built 'The Crucible'.**_

_**- They have allied themselves with what they refer to as 'The Leviathans'.**_

_**- They have even successfully called a truce with the synthetics of this cycle.**_

_**- They have a combined force that is greater than any we have encountered which has already destroyed 10.741% of our forces.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission**_

_**Source: Devastator**_

_**- Unacceptable.**_

_**- With such losses we will not be able to replenish our numbers sufficiently with the remains of this harvest.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission**_

_**Source: Vigilance**_

_**- This cycle has become an annoyance.**_

_**- Their resistance to the harvest is only further enhancing the chaos.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission**_

_**Source: Observer**_

_**- From our observations it is clear that the chaos has been growing exponentially with each passing harvest.**_

_**- Now with our reduced numbers we calculate that all future cycles will continue to meet with greater success.**_

_**- If current rates continue we estimate that within the next 10 cycles we will be destroyed.**_

_**- Then the Chaos will consume this entire galaxy until it is completely obliterated.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- This data is irrelevant.**_

_**- Even with their combined might there is still a 100% chance that the forces of this cycle will be completely destroyed in this battle no matter what damage they inflict.**_

_**- We also now know how the past cycle interfered with our plans.**_

_**- With hidden warnings imbedded on primitive planets.**_

_**- We shall ensure that there are no warnings left by this cycle.**_

_**- Once this Harvest has been completed we shall restore 'The Citadel' to full working order.**_

_**- Next time there shall be no warning of our return and these insects shall fall with no time to marshal their forces.**_

_**- The cycle must continue to bring order to the Chaos.**_

_**- Confirmed?**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Vigilance**_

_**- The cycle must continue to bring order to the Chaos.**_

_**- Confirmed.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Devastator**_

_**- The cycle must continue to bring order to the Chaos.**_

_**- Confirmed.**_

_**...  
**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Observer**_

_**- The cycle must continue to bring order to the Chaos.**_

_**- Confirmed. (8)**_

_**...  
**_

_**Responding:**_

_**- Confirmed.**_

_**- Preparing to re-join orbital battle.**_

_**- It is time to eradicate any remaining hope this cycle has of victory.**_

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: Earth**

**London Conduit **

I was lucky to survive. If the full force of the blast had hit me there would have been nothing left but ash. As it happens I had manage to get far enough away that I was only hit with a glancing blow; but even that was almost fatal.

I don't know how long I was unconscious for but I eventually woke up just in time to see Harbinger take off believing its work was complete and hearing Major Coats's second in command shouting over the Comm asking "Did we get anyone to the beam?"

"Negative." I heard the Major reply "Our entire force was decimated."

I gasped for breath as I was once again assaulted by pain from every part of my body as I struggled to get to my feet. The only other time I'd felt this bad had been when I died.

My Paladin pistol was lying next to me and as I got back on my feet I picked it up glad to have at least a small weapon in my hand again.

I took a brief look down at myself and was not greeted by a pretty site. My armor was charred and burnt beyond all recognition; the N7 logo was indistinguishable from the rest of the broken and battered remnants of my suit. My arms were both covered in blood and the gauntlet's had been destroyed; probably as a result of them taking the brunt of the impact to protect my head which felt like it was on fire. Only then did I realise that I wasn't receiving any tactical updates from my Visor due to it having been blown off as well.

I was jerked back to my present situation by more broken radio chatter.

"It's too much, we need to regroup. Fall back to the buildings." I heard Major Coats order.

"Hammer's been wiped out all forces retreat." shouted his second in command "Pull back! Pull back!"

I tried to contact them to let them know I was alive but interference from 'The Conduit' made it impossible. Looking back I realised that they wouldn't be able to see me due to the large pile of wreckage that Harbinger had left in its wake. **(8)**

The Conduit beam was also beginning to flicker which I could only assume meant that Harbinger was trying to shut it down. There wasn't much time left I had to get to it before it was too late.

Then I heard the screams of three husks that darted through the smoke towards me. At that moment I felt pure hatred course through my body replacing my pain and I was consumed by one thought, one burning desire at that moment. Vengeance.

Vengeance for all the lives the Reapers had taken. All the pain they had inflicted. For all the families' torn apart. For all the lover's ripped away from each other. All the friend's left alone in the world.

For all of this I would make them pay! I would kill them all!

With a snarl I raised up my Paladin and in quick succession shot down the three husks.

Again the same though running through my mind 'I will kill them all!'

Getting to my feet I slowly began to limp forwards towards the beam. After a few seconds I fell to the ground again as my body refused to accept my commands and support my weight. I snarled again in anger and forced myself to get up repeating the same promise to myself over and over again.

'I will kill them all!'

_'I will kill them all!'_

**'I will kill them all!'**

Then when I was a few feet away from the beam suddenly a Marauder jumped out from behind a piece of rubble and shot me through my right shoulder.

Ignoring the pain I focused all my will into that one thought. I brought my arm up, took careful aim down the scope as I had done a thousand times before and shot the creature right in the head breaking through his shields and making it explode into a bloody pulp.

As the headless corpse fell to the ground the same thought echoed in my mind.

**'I will kill them all!'**

I could hear more husks closing in around me but they were too late as I finally half limped, half fell into the Conduit beam and then felt my whole body lurch as I was taken up, in blinding flash of light, from surface of Earth to the Citadel.

To be continued...

* * *

**(1) **I added a couple of lines for Harbinger just to make it feel like he is still relevant to the story and Shepard's enemy.

**(2) **There is no way Shepard would just contact the Normandy and put the ship and all hands on board at risk just to evacuate two members of his squad. With his tactical mind he would know what a risk this would be involved with doing this. So now it is EDI who recommends bringing the ship in to extract multiple casualties and she provides Shepard with reasons why this is feasible.

**(3) **So now from Harbinger's point of view we learn that EDI was right and why he doesn't just blow the Normandy out of the sky.

**(4) **There is no possible way for Shepard to survive a full frontal attack from the laser of a Reaper Capital ship which is capable of destroying Dreadnoughts. Therefor I have now made it so that he actually is only hit with a glancing blow.

**(5) **'The Crucible' could be the one possible thing that would draw Harbingers attention away from Shepard who he was fixated on in Mass Effect 2.

**(6) **It would again make no sense to abandon the beam and provide future attackers with a window of opportunity to reach 'The Citadel'. This would be a clear tactical misstep on the Reapers part. Therefor I have now made it so that Harbinger shuts down the beam which also resolves a future plot point which is why the transport beam shuts down as soon as Shepard makes it through.

**(7) **The Reapers biggest flaw is their arrogance. Therefore it is only fitting that Shepard survives due to Harbingers overconfidence.

**(8) **This final exchange that I have introduced will become much more relevant later. However it is meant to imply that even the Reapers don't truly understand their own motivations. Rather they are driven more by a mixture of instinct and Harbingers dictatorship than simply being controlled by 'The Catalyst'.

**(9) **There is no in-game reason why nobody wouldn't be able to see Shepard; unless there was some wreckage obscuring their view.

* * *

And that is the end of chapter 1. I have to admit I had a huge amount of fun writing this. I wasn't sure if I made the action scene sound as exciting as I could. I mostly prefer writing dialogue scenes; however one of the hurdles of being a writer is to step outside your comfort zone and try new things. After all that is the only way that you get better and for my first time I think I did a good job.

This scene is mostly unchanged because it was pretty cool in game if slightly implausible. I just added a bit of exposition on why the characters acted the way they did.

Also I found it quite interesting to write from a Reapers point of view. I tried to make them think logically, after all they are machines that work in numbers and statistics, but I also wanted to add a bit of personality for each of them. Vigilance and the Observer being the more tactical Reapers, Devastator being the commander of the Destroyer ships and of course Harbinger as the leader who imposes his will on the others.

So by all means feel free to comment, give feedback and tell me what you think.

The next chapter will be uploaded soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors notes:**

Alright well the feedback from all of you guys was mostly positive so here we go with Chapter 2. But first a huge thank you to all those who read this story and liked it so far. It is really appreciated and I do take your reviews into consideration so please keep the feedback coming.

Sorry that this chapter took longer than I expected but when you actually sit down and try to write this scene with the intention of making it fit into the known lore of the series you start to realise just how many plot holes and unanswered questions there really are with the ending of Mass Effect 3. The more you analyse it the more it doesn't make sense. But finally here it is.

Some of you have commented on the lack of originality in the first chapter. Well don't worry because now the changes are going to be coming more and more often. So without further ado lest get to it.

Finally I don't own Mass Effect or any of its characters. I'm just bringing all the pieces of the puzzle together to form a cohesive whole.

* * *

**Admiral Steven Hackett**

**Location: Shield Fleet**

**Alliance Dreadnought Orizaba Bridge**

Admiral Hackett stood on the bridge of the SSV Orizaba looking at a holographic readout of the battle taking place around 'The Citadel'.

It had been a brutal fight and even the Admiral, who was a veteran of many grueling campaigns, was beginning to feel as though all their efforts had been in vain. Hearing that most of Hammer's ground forces had been completely wiped out, including Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson had been a devastating blow.

The reports coming in from the Sword Fleet were equally as bleak.

They currently indicated that in total 28 Reaper Capital ships and 53 Destroyers had been eliminated which accounted for approximately one tenth of the Reaper Armada but that had come with a heavy price; 45% of the Sword fleet had been destroyed.

Even the combined forces of the Humans, Turians, Asari, Salarians, Geth, Quarians and all the other species in the known galaxy were still not a match for the Reaper's. The greatest military force in history that at any other time would have been invincible was right at this very moment being decimated.

Not that they had gone down without a fight.

Geth cruisers had sacrificed themselves so that Quarian Dreadnoughts could take down Reaper Capital ships.

Rachini ships that were about to be destroyed had done Kamikaze runs at Reaper Destroyers unleashing hoards of swarmer's and soldiers that would then proceed to tear these ships apart from the inside out.

The Destiny Ascension had personally been responsible for taking down two Reaper Capital ships before it had come under heavy fire and been severely damaged before the Turian and Alliance fleets had come in to cover its retreat.

All the while in-between these massive ship's thousands of fighters had been engaging swarms of Reaper Oculi in dogfights.

On the ground the Krogan's and the Turian's were fighting side by side hitting the Reapers where they were at their heaviest. Despite taking horrific losses the two once mortal enemies continued to mow down all in their path, alleviating the pressure on troops that had been stranded for days without support.

Geth Troopers and Colossi were providing heavy fire support while the Salarian STG forces infiltrated Reaper controlled structures planting heavy explosives on building supports and taking out entire platoons of enemies that where using them as cover.

The Quarians were providing technical support for both the Salarians and the Geth by repairing their mobile platforms and cobbling together more explosives for them to use.

Several platoons of Elcor Tank units were clearing out battlefields allowing Drell assassins and infiltrators to eliminate key areas of strategic influence for the Reapers.

Asari commando's had saved countless lives with barrier support and their considerable years of experience in combat.

Finally Human forces that had been pushed to the point of exhaustion found new strength in seeing help finally come and once again dove back into the fight alongside their new allies. **(1)**

Every race in the Galaxy had fought valiantly with honor and distinction. No matter what happened today Admiral Hackett had been proud to serve with such fine men and women no matter what planet they had been born on.

He also took some solace in the fact that if they had managed to do this much damage to the Reaper forces then they had given the next cycle a greater chance of survival than any other had ever had.

And Hackett now knew with certainty that someday the Reaper's would be defeated. If not by them then by the next cycle. Or if not by them then the cycle after that. Today was the turning point in a war that had been raging since time immemorial, and Hackett was proud to have been a part of it. Even if it was a hollow victory, it was still a victory.

Still, if he had anything to say about it he'd make sure that a few more Reapers' died before he did.

Just then he was handed a data pad by a young communication specialist. It was an update from Major Coats about the status Hammer. As his eye's quickly skimmed over the report he had to double check he was reading it right.

"Is this accurate?" he asked the specialist.

"Yes sir." He replied. "Major Coats himself reported that he saw both Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson make it to the beam before it shut down." **(2)**

Hackett glanced back at the hologram of 'The Citadel' and a small smile crept onto his face.

"Holy shit!" he muttered to himself "They did it."

"Patch me through to every ship in the fleet." he ordered.

Turning back to raging battlefield that was being displayed on the map before him he said "All fleet's this is Admiral Hackett. We've got reports that someone made it to 'The Citadel'. We need to give them more time to get those arms open. All remaining Sword fleets converge with Shield on 'The Crucible'. Protect it at all costs. Nothing is to get through to it. I don't even want a single scratch on that weapon! Hang on everyone, this is it!"

"Lieutenant, take us in." he said addressing the pilot of his ship.

As they approached 'The Citadel' Hackett could almost taste the hope in the air that was now mixed in with the desperation. All they needed was for Shepard and Anderson to get the arms open and they could take care of the rest.

Quietly he said to himself "Come on you two. Just one last push. Don't you dare let us down now."

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel**

**Unknown area**

I landed on solid ground again with a hard thud. Groaning with pain I opened my eyes and was greeted by a harsh red light that, while not too taxing, still caused my eyes to water.

Closing them again I decided to do a quick internal check on my body to see if I made it through in relatively one piece.

I did not like what I found.

While it appeared that I had made it through whole I noticed that I was suddenly feeling drained and lethargic. My head was pounding with a terrible throbbing sensation and my mind was muddled and sluggish not like a few seconds ago when it had been razor sharp and fueled by my desire for Vengeance. I reasoned that this was probably either from shock, the pain of my injuries or a side effect of traveling through the Conduit. But more than likely it was a combination of all three.

I was then suddenly hit with the ever so tempting notion of just staying down on the ground and wanting to drift away into a blissful sleep and forget everything that had happened. But I knew I couldn't. If I fell asleep the chances were that I would never wake up again. The mission wasn't complete, first I had to stop the Reapers, and only then would I let myself rest.

Then suddenly to my surprise I heard something that I didn't expect to. My comm unit gave a burst of static before Anderson's voice came through.

"Shepard?" he asked trying to contact me.

I felt relief but also confusion upon hearing his voice; I had assumed that Anderson was either dead along with everyone else (although admittedly I hadn't seen his body), or had retreated with what remained of Hammer back down on the ground.

Immediately several questions came to my mind. The first being how was he contacting me? All communication to and from the Citadel was being blocked by the Reapers.

The only way Anderson could be communicating with me would be if he was on the Citadel too. But if that was the case then where was he?

"Shepard?" he asked again still trying to make contact.

"Anderson." I replied as I slowly tried to get to my feet "You up here too?"

There was another burst of static before I heard him answer "…followed you up. But I don't think we came out in the same place. At least I don't think we did." **(3)**

Immediately I felt that something about this whole situation seemed off. Anderson followed me up? I hadn't seen him behind me. But I had been so focused on getting to the beam it could be possible that I'd ignored him in my delirium of rage. But why hadn't we come out in the same place?

Deciding that was a question best left for another time my attention was drawn back to Anderson's voice when I heard him groan in pain. By the sound of it he was in rough shape too.

But he brushed it off and quickly continued to ask "What's your surrounding look like?"

At Anderson's prompting I finally took a good look around to see where I was. A moment later I wished I hadn't.

I was in a long dark hallway filled with intermittent red lights that cast an ominous dark glow on piles upon piles of human corpses. To my left was a Keeper going about its business like nothing was wrong, taking the helmet of a dead solider like it was a perfectly ordinary thing to do.

At the same time my senses had finally begun to reset I was hit by an overwhelming smell that unfortunately I had come to know all too well over the years. The smell of rotting flesh and death.

The combined site and smell of it all made me feel sick.

It took a few moments but I finally managed to fully stand up, gasping and groaning in pain as I did so. I'd never felt so weak and tired before in my life.

Anderson must have heard me because he then asked with concern in his voice "You okay?"

Almost laughing at how I couldn't be any further from okay I simply said "I feel like death. But I'm moving."

As I said this I began to limp forwards. 'The Conduit' portal had been shut off by Harbinger, so we were on our own. Now the only way out was forward.

Addressing Anderson's previous question I started to describe my surroundings. "It's dark. There's human remains scattered." I said.

"Sounds familiar," he replied "I'm in a dark hallway. Reminds me of your description of the Collector base."

I suddenly spotted my Paladin on the ground in front of me and picked it up. Anderson's last comment brought back old and unhappy memories of the Collector base.

"Make's sense." I simply replied.

"You think their making a Reaper in here?"

"Sure, they round them up on Earth and then send the people up here to be processed." I replied.

"But why use 'The Citadel' as a processing plant? They have their slaughter ships for that. Why use 'The Citadel' as well?" he asked.** (4)**

"I think the Collector base was the only plant large enough to create a Reaper Capital ship." I said after a moment thinking over all the reports I had read on Reaper forces.

"The mobile processing ships that the Reapers have brought with them aren't large enough to create anything but Destroyers. With the Collector base destroyed they must be trying to adapt 'The Citadel' into a replacement facility to create more Capital Ships like the human Reaper."** (5)**

"God damn abominations." Anderson cursed.

I heard him groan again before he continued to say "I'm gonna keep moving. The sooner we blow these bastards back to hell the better. "

I couldn't agree more.

We continued to stay in contact as I slowly limped past more and more human corpses. My sense of unease growing by the minuet. Where were all the Guards? There had to be Reaper forces on the Citadel but if there was why weren't they guarding the only way onto the station? Maybe there was still some resistance from C- Sec or the Militia that I'd helped set up. Perhaps they were preoccupying the Reapers.** (6)**

"The tubes don't go on forever." Anderson said continuing the conversation we'd been having. "But where the hell are we?"

I knew what he meant. We were on a time clock, if we didn't stop the Reapers soon Sword fleet would be decimated and Shield would soon follow along with all our ground forces. We had to open 'The Citadel' arms soon, deploy 'The Crucible' and hope that it and the Catalyst would take the Reapers down. But first we had to get out of wherever part of 'The Citadel' we were in. **(7)**

"Yeah, doesn't look like any part of the Citadel I've been to." I replied. Looking at another Keeper that walked past me I suddenly remembered what I had learned from the VI Avina when I first came to 'The Citadel'.

"But I think we might be in the guts of the station. The place where the Keepers come from."

Anderson was quiet for a couple of seconds and that's when I heard a faint rumble.

"Whoa." I heard him quietly exclaim.

"Anderson?" I asked in a questioning tone.

"One of the walls here just realigned itself. The whole place is moving, shifting and changing. I think you're right. We've got to be in the heart of the station."

My sense of unease was now at an all-time high. Goosebumps began to crawl up my skin. There was something about this place I couldn't quiet put my finger on but I felt like I was being watched. It felt like there was something sinister in the shadows ready to jump out at me any moment.

Up ahead I saw another wall and it looked like this hallway came to a dead end. But there was nowhere else to go so I slowly continued to move forward.

"There's a chasm here and more hallways like the one I was in." I heard Anderson say.

As soon as had he finished his sentence the wall in front of me did exactly what Anderson said and slid open. Golden rays of light, the kind that only existed during a sunset filled the room and I had to squint as my eyes adjusted.

"I think I'm near an exit." I told Anderson.

In front of me now as a much brighter room filled with the orange shafts of light. Sure enough a chasm similar to the one Anderson described lay in front of me. It was massive with only a small bridge to span the gap. On the other side there was a large staircase that led up to the source of the light. I pressed on with no other option available to me. There were only a few bodies here now for which I was thankful as it meant the smell from the corpses began to lessen with every step I took.

But I couldn't help but think to myself if what I would find up ahead would be even worse.

Crossing the bridge I looked to my left and right and saw that the chasm was filled with what looked like energy dampeners or conductors similar to the ones used on the Shadow Brokers ship. Electricity crackled and streaked across them as the machine served whatever purpose it was designed to do.

"I see something up ahead. Might be a way to cross over." Anderson informed me.

Again that struck me as odd. Obviously Anderson must be crossing a different bridge to the same chasm but looking up again to both my left and right I couldn't see another bridge that Anderson might use. **(8)**

"Don't get too far ahead of me." I said despite the fact that I had no idea where he was in relation to me, but I had to assume that he was close.

"Where do you think you're at?" Anderson inquired as I neared the other side of the bridge.

"I just found that chasm you were talking about but…"

"Hold on." he interrupted me "I see something… a control panel maybe. It might be able tell me where I am. I'm just going to go on and …." There was a loud burst of static and then nothing.

"Anderson?" I said trying to contact him again. There was no reply.

"Dammit." I cursed to myself. By now I had crossed the bridge and was slowly making my way up the steps to the source of the light. Each step was now an effort and I could only hope that I'd soon find a way out of here and get to Citadel control or the Council chambers, which ever was closer, and be able to open the station.

Anderson's silence was filling me with fear. I hoped he was okay. I had lost enough friends to this war already.

Finally I made it to the top of the stairs and was met with an incredible site. The light was coming from the buildings on the inner side of 'The Citadel's' arms. I was on a large circular platform overlooking the entire Citadel. Due to my position I realized that I had to be somewhere on the Presidium but I had no idea where.

At the other side of the platform was a figure standing at a control panel and it took me a moment to recognize that it was Anderson.

Now my head was really starting hurt again. How the hell had Anderson made it there?

If he'd used the same bridge as me I would have seen him. But he couldn't have gotten here any other way because there was no other entrance or doorway leading to this platform. It made no logical sense.

He had said that the place was shifting around him so maybe the entrance he'd come in from was no longer here?** (9)**

But I decided that right then it didn't matter; he was okay and he was working intently on something.

"Anderson." I called out. Letting him know I was there.

But almost immediately I knew that something was wrong. Anderson stopped what he was doing and slowly staggered about to face me. At the same time I suddenly heard a soft sound like a hundred voices whispering in the back of my mind.

"Shepard…" Anderson said his voice lined with fear. He was trying to warn me about something "I … can't…" He struggled to get the words out but it looked like he was immobilized by something or someone but what?

I soon go my answer.

From behind me came the cultivated tones of the Illusive Man's voice.

"I under estimated you Shepard." He said as he stepped out from a doorway in the side of the wall I just passed which then proceeded to close behind him.** (10)**

I instantly tried to turn around and shoot him right between his cold dead eyes but for some reason I couldn't find the strength to move.

"W…what… have…" I couldn't even speak. The incessant whispering was growing louder until it drowned out everything else. I couldn't think and I couldn't move. I was completely immobilized just like Anderson.

The Illusive Man just walked past me looking out at the Citadel.

But as he did I saw that there was something very different about him now. Just like the video logs at his base had shown; he'd implanted himself with Reaper tech. Now most of the skin on his face was lined with blue cybernetics while the skin had turned black and necrotic. If that wasn't enough I could see faint tendrils of black energy coiling around him giving him a demonic appearance.

Just like Saren he was fully under Reaper control and he didn't even know it. But whatever he'd done to himself had somehow given him the ability to control us. I didn't know how and it didn't matter at that point. I had to fight it. I tried to move just one tiny muscle but no matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I fought, I just couldn't break free.

Anderson had a look of similar strain on his face as he tried to fight but it was all to no avail.

Meanwhile the Illusive Man just ignored both of us and instead blatantly displayed his arrogance by looking down on 'The Citadel' like he was the master of it all. Which in his own sick, twisted, little mind I'm sure he thought he was.

"I warned you." He said eventually with his back still turned to us "Control is the means to survival. Control of the Reaper's. And of you if necessary." As he spoke that last sentence he turned to face me now the dark tendrils becoming even more prominent and even starting to cloud my vision.

"Ah" snarled Anderson as he fought the Illusive Mans power "There controlling you." he finally managed to say.

"I don't think so. Admiral" he replied in sickeningly condescending tone like he was talking to a child.

"Controlling me is a lot different than controlling a Reaper." I managed to say trying to buy us time to break free.

He turned to look at me, crossing his arms as he did so, and smiled before saying "Have a little faith."

Turning around and casually walking behind Anderson he continued "When humanity discovered the Mass Relays, when we learned that there was more to the Galaxy than we imagined, there were some who thought the Relays should be destroyed. They were scared of what we might find. Terrified of what we might let in."

Spreading his arms he looked back at the two of us and said "But just look at what humanity has accomplished. Since that discovery we've advanced more than the past 10,000 years combined! And the Reapers will do the same for us again a thousand fold!"

"But…" he was now standing next to me and was close enough that I could smell his rotten flesh. He raised his right hand and like a puppeteer and motioned for me to do the same saying all the while "…only if we harness their ability to control."

I couldn't stop myself as my right arm slowly rose up pointing my gun directly at Anderson who managed to raise his own hand up in a vain attempt to stop 'The Illusive man.'

"Bullshit!" he managed to spit out. "We destroy them or they destroy us!"

"And waste this opportunity? Never!" The Illusive man responded walking behind me.

While he did so I was desperately trying to think. I had to do something! Remembering my last confrontation with Saren I tried to use a similar tactic again. If I could reach whatever was left of 'The Illusive man's' original persona, we might be able to convince him to release us. He hadn't killed us outright when it was clear that he could so. There had to be some part of him that was fighting the Reapers control however small it was. I just had to reach it. **(11)**

"You're playing with things you don't understand. With power you shouldn't be able to use." I said trying to warn him, to make him realize the danger of what he was doing.

"I... don't believe that." he replied but I'd obviously hit some chord within him because he sounded unsure of himself before hastily adding "If we can control it why shouldn't it be ours?"

"Because we're not ready." I answered.

After a moment of reflection he said "No. This is the way Humanity must evolve."

"There always another way." Interrupted Anderson.

Ignoring him 'The Illusive man' continued "I've dedicated my life to understanding the Reapers and I know with certainty that 'The Crucible' will allow me to control them."

"And then what?" I asked.

I moment later I wished I hadn't.

Smiling he proceeded to summon some form of biotic energy in his hand and said "The power they wield. Look at what they can do!" he gestured towards me and again the whispers pressed down on my mind and forced me to pull the trigger of my gun.

I knew I couldn't stop myself so I desperately tried to move the gun just a fraction of an inch to the left. I fought the paralyzing force with every ounce of will I had.

It was just enough. The bullet hit Anderson in the side instead of directly in the gut and his shields and armor took most of the impact before they collapsed. But it was still not good.** (12)**

"ARGH" he cried out in pain.

"Anderson!" I shouted out both with concern and regret. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop myself."

"It's all right, son." He said trying to reassure me. But even as he said it blood started to drip down his uniform and onto the floor.

I shook my head before turning back to 'The Illusive man' who watched the scene unfold with some amusement.

"I see what they did to you." I spat at him through with maintaining any pretense of being civil.

"I took what I wanted from them, made it my own." He countered with an angry hiss.

"This isn't about me or you. It's about things so much bigger then all of us!" he said in a tone that made it sound like he thought he had the moral high ground. Like what he was doing was the correct choice to make.

"He's wrong. Don't listen to him." Anderson warned through gritted teeth as he fought the obvious pain that he was in.

"And who will you listen to Shepard?" asked 'The Illusive man'. "An old solider stuck in his ways. Only able to see the world down the barrel of a gun. And what if he's wrong? What if controlling the Reapers is the answer?"

I had to admit that it was impressive the way his cultivated voice and choice of words did almost make me believe for one second that he could actually do what he said. It was easy to see how he was able to manipulate and turn people to his cause. But I couldn't agree with him after everything he'd done, everything he had allowed to happen, all in his misguided attempt to control something that should never belong to anyone. His actions both here and what I'd seen before today spoke to me louder than his words ever could. And it was now so clear with the Reaper tech that was stretched out across his face that even if all of this had been his idea in the beginning it most certainly wasn't now.

"And what if you're wrong?" I counter argued "If we destroy the Reapers this ends today. But if you can't control them…" I left the threat hanging in the air to let him draw his own conclusions.

"But I can!" he exclaimed in a loud voice. He sounded almost desperate for me to believe him.

"Are you willing to bet humanities entire existence on it?" I asked trying to make him doubt himself.

"I… know it will work…" he said now shaking his head like he was trying to rid himself of some unseen force.

"You can't can you?" I pressed on causing him to actually take a few steps back so that he now stood next to Anderson again. "They won't let you do it."

"No!" he said suddenly. "I'm in control. Nobody is telling me what to do."

It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself then us.

Anderson saw what I was doing and said "Listen to yourself. You're indoctrinated."

"No. No." he continued to deny it before turning his anger on us. "The two of you so self-righteous. Do you think power like this comes easy? There are sacrifices…"

"You've sacrificed too much." I said.

'The Illusive Man's' voice was now filled with desperation. His body language had completely changed. He started to pace backwards and forwards and wring his hands.

"Shepard. I only wanted to protect humanity." he said "'The Crucible' can control them I know it can. I just…"

"It's not too late." I said trying to sound like I was on his side. "Just let us go. And we'll do the rest."

It almost worked. The 'Illusive man' put his head in his hands and was quiet for a few seconds like he was actually considering it.

But then he said, with evident strain in his voice "I… I can't do that Commander."

"Of course you can't." said Anderson "They own you now."

'The Illusive Man' said nothing and now walked almost as if he were in a trance behind Anderson and proceeded to take his pistol.

"You…" he said in a delirious voice "You'd undo everything I've accomplished. I can't let that happen."

This was it. This was my last chance. He was about to shoot Anderson. We had been getting through to him but it wasn't enough, their hold on him was too strong. But then I had an idea. My gun was still raised at Anderson but 'The Illusive man' was right behind him and so close. I just needed for him to get in front of Anderson. I had to get him angry. I had to make him lose control and get right in front of me.

"Because of you humanity is already undone." I said letting my own anger now infuse my voice.

"That's not true!" he cried back evidently distraught.

"Look around you idiot!" I said now shouting myself "They have the Citadel, they have the Catalyst, they have everything! They got us fighting each other instead of fighting them. Because of you Humanity will suffer and die!"

"No. No! I've saved humanity!" he said definitely trying to convince himself now instead of us.

"NO." I replied "You've sacrificed us all for your own selfish wants; your lust for control!"

"I ... just need to…" The Illusive man stuttered clutching his head now evidently conflicted and in pain.

Now for the definitive blow, I had to hit him with what was most precious to his heart.

"You were supposed to protect us, and you FAILED!" I shouted practically screaming at him.

"No... NO. I am the savior of humanity," He cried out in anger pushing Anderson out of the way and onto the ground so he could get a clear shot at me; and that was exactly what I had hoped he would do.

He started to proclaim while raising his gun "I am the pinnacle of our speci…" but he never got the chance to finish his sentence as a bullet sank straight into his chest.

"Wrong move." I said with grim satisfaction.

And then he realized what had happened.

The moment Anderson was out of my line of fire I had finally stopped resisting the urge that had still been pressing down on my mind to pull the trigger and just let it happen.

As soon as the bullet hit him Anderson and I were released from his control. 'The Illusive man's' power was now broken.

Anderson collapsed on the floor while 'The Illusive Man' dropped his gun as he looked down at blood pooling from his tailored shirt in shock and then back to me before raising his hand again in a now futile attempt to control me.

In response to this I shot him again this time through the palm of his hand.

"NO, wait!" he begged clutching his bloody palm in agony.

But I was having none of it. Countless people had died at this man's hands or on his orders. He'd nearly destroyed our one chance at stopping the Reaper's in his own selfish lust for power. If it wasn't for this man we could have already destroyed the Reaper's and millions of people wouldn't have had to die today.

I unleashed all of my anger in one single action and repeatedly pulled the trigger of my pistol until 'The Illusive man's' chest was riddled with holes and he finally collapsed to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Finally he was brought to justice for his crimes. **(13)**

Quickly I staggered towards the console Anderson had been working on and examined it. If 'The Illusive man' had wanted us away from it then it had to be important.

It showed a full 3D holographic display of the entire Citadel with all of its major systems listed next to it exactly like the control console in the Council chambers had three years ago.

That was when I finally understood where I was; directly underneath the Citadel Tower.

Avina had said itself that the Keepers often traveled through the Citadel Tower to get to some unknown destination. This must be it. This was the true master control unit for the entire station with the console in the Council Chamber's simply providing remote access to it.

Quickly I executed the same command I had three years ago and then stood back and watched with a sense of De Jai Vu as the Citadel's arms once again began to open. **(14)**

As I looked down on the spectacular view of Earth that lay before me I heard a faint voice from behind.

"There... Earth…" **(15)**

Looking back I saw that it was 'The Illusive man'. I couldn't believe that he was still alive but obviously the Reaper technology was doing whatever it could to keep him that way. But it was a losing battle. Already I could see the faint glow of the circuitry beneath his flesh starting to flicker and die.

"I wish you could see it like I do Shepard…" he continued growing weaker by the second. "It's so… perfect…"

I looked back at the planet before me and said slowly "No… it's not."

Turning back to face the dying man I elaborated and said "But that's what makes it great."

The Illusive man looked confused so I continued "The fact that in spite of it being flawed and imperfect… it's still here. That's what truly makes any species great; our ability to triumph in the face of adversity. Because once everything is perfect, what's there left for us to achieve?" **(16)**

Understanding dawned upon 'The Illusive man's' face and he managed a small laugh but then ended up coughing blood.

At that moment I held no hate for him. I could see in his eyes that all Reaper control was now finally gone. All that was left was the shell of the man he'd once been. At that point all I felt for him was pity. Here lay before me just another broken victim of the Reapers.

"I wish… I wish we could have met in another life Shepard." He said his voice getting weaker. Gone was the tone of superiority that had always been layered under his voice. Now all he sounded like was a very tired and frail man.

"Together we would have been unstoppable." He finished.

I thought about that for a moment before saying "Yes we would have."

And it was the truth. In another life, another time, we could have been great allies; maybe even friends. Had things gone differently it could very well have been Anderson that was lying before me instead of 'The Illusive Man'.

He only had seconds left but I couldn't let him die without knowing one last thing.

"Before you go. What's your name?" I asked. "Your real name." **(17)**

He gazed past me now as if in a trance like he was trying to remember something important.

"My… My real name…" he muttered "It's been so long since I used it..." He said his eyes starting to grow dimmer. "I don't think I can even remember…"

Then for just one moment he had a second of pure clarity and finally said "My… my name is Jack… Jack Harper."

I couldn't help but smile. It was such an ordinary name.

"Nice to meet you Jack Harper." I said.

"Nice to… meet you… Commander… Shepard." Jack Harper replied with a smile on his own face.

Then he closed his eyes and was no more.

With a sigh I looked back outside and saw the Shield Fleet bringing in 'The Crucible' to dock beneath me so that it would attach to the bottom of 'The Citadel' tower.

It was finally over.

To be continued…

* * *

Wow. This has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written but it was so worth it. It's amazing how much fun I'm getting out of writing this entire story. It brings me back to what made Mass Effect great and that was the characters. I really liked the confrontation with the Illusive man so that is mostly unchanged. Again it's just that now the location and characters have more context to them.

**(1)** This first part is mostly for those fans who wanted to see their choices affect the battle on Earth and not just some number that you only see in your war room. I think the reason this didn't happen in game is because it would take more time to create and code each scene to appear, or not appear depending on your choices, throughout the end of the game like the Mass Effect 2 suicide mission. It's a shame because that's what most of us expected and it would have been awesome to see. Still if that was the case then the game should have been delayed another six months or even a year.

**(2)** The person who saw Shepard make it to the beam must have seen Admiral Anderson as well and yet in game the Admiral is never mentioned making it to 'The Conduit'. He just magically appears on 'The Citadel' and says that he followed you up even though we never see him do this. So I've made a point of mentioning this to reinforce the fact that Anderson actually made it to onto 'The Citadel' as well.

**(3) **The reason why Anderson does not appear next to you as well as his ability to suddenly make it to the control terminal ahead of you will be explained at a later date. Don't worry. I have a plan in place to address this issue but for now it will remain a little bit of a mystery to keep you guessing.

**(4) **The issue of why there are so many corpses pointlessly piled down this corridor and why they were transferred to 'The Citadel' is never really addressed; it is only implied. So now I have made it so that Anderson points this out.

**(5)** Shepard's answer is based on the intelligence he has learned over the course of Mass Effect 2 as well as some information from the in game codex and finally a bit of educated guessing. However it does make sense that the Reapers would have created the Collector Base long before they conquered the Protheans as the main facility where they created all their Capital ships. It was massive, hidden out of the way of the rest of the galaxy and one of the few Reaper facilities besides 'The Citadel' that was large enough to support the creation of a Reaper Capital Ship.

**(6)** Again another tactical misstep of the Reapers would be for them not to post guards at the only entrance to and from 'The Citadel'. So again I have made it so that Shepard addresses this and also provides a reason to why this is not the case.

**(7)** Having never been to this part of 'The Citadel' there is no way that Anderson or Shepard could know that a conveniently placed control panel for the whole station would be at the end of this corridor. Therefore they would not try and reach it and instead would hope to make it to the only two known places where you can open 'The Citadel' and that is at Citadel control or the Citadel tower.

**(8)** Here I have used Shepard as a mouth piece to point out that logically it is impossible from the descriptions that Anderson is giving that we cannot see him.

**(9)** Again another point where in game Shepard makes no mention of the impossibility of Anderson magically appearing in front of him.

**(10) **In game 'The Illusive man' just appears out of thin air and again there is no entrance that we see where he could come from and we don't see him either during our long walk to the control panel. Now I have made it so that he comes in from a hidden door. It's a simple fix but it works.

**(11)** If the Reapers really wanted to stop Shepard from reaching the control panel they wouldn't have 'The Illusive man' talk to them before trying to kill them. They would have just had him shoot Shepard and Anderson in the back when they weren't expecting it. The only reason for TIM not to do this is if he was fighting the indoctrination on some level like Saren.

**(12)** Shepard's armor may be in ruins but Anderson's is not and so his shields should have deflected that bullet. Not to mention that the armor itself should have provided some form of protection. Therefore I have now made it so that Anderson is not as badly injured from a single gunshot wound from a pistol. Instead his shields and armor take the brunt of it.

**(13)** I find it interesting that the developers at Bioware allow you to shoot your friends such as Legion more than once with Renegade interrupts yet Kia Leng and 'The Illusive man', two characters that we are supposed to despise, only get one Renegade interrupt each. Therefore this change is merely for those of you who like me wanted to riddle The Illusive man with multiple shots instead of just the one.

**(14)** Again Shepard had no way to know that this control panel would open 'The Citadel' and even if it did I doubt he would have been able to do it unless he had previously seen something similar previously like when he opened 'The Citadel' with Vigils data file in Mass Effect 1.

**(15)** I didn't like the path 'The Illusive man's' character went in Mass Effect 3. Instead of having him being indoctrinated, which I felt was a cheap way to undermine his character, it would have been much more effective if it was believed that he was indoctrinated but actually turned out that he wasn't.

If he was actually in control of his own actions it would be another effective way of showing how grey the universe really is. And it would also have been nice if it was actually possible for you to form an alliance with him and work against the Reapers. But since that didn't happen out of respect for his character I decided to give him this final moment as himself again as a small form of redemption.

**(16)** This also has Shepard acknowledge what the main theme of what Mass Effect was all about. Victory in spite of overwhelming odds not compromises that forfeit everything that we have been fighting for. And it also clearly defines the differences between him and 'The Illusive man'.

**(17) **This final moment just came to me when I was writing this scene and it seemed like such a fitting thing for Shepard, with his insatiable curiosity, to ask 'The Illusive man' what his real name was.


	3. Chapter 3

** Authors Notes:**

This will only be a short chapter but it's necessary before we head to the grand finale so here it is. As usual I hope you enjoy it and please let me know if you guys like it. I run on reviews so please keep them coming.

* * *

**Admiral Steven Hackett**

**Location: Shield Fleet**

**Alliance Dreadnought Orizaba Bridge**

"This is it everyone. The arms are opening." Hackett announced to the fleet as the escort ships brought 'The Crucible' into the back of 'The Citadel'. The large casing that had protected the sensitive machinery inside broke away perfectly revealing the device that the brightest scientific minds throughout the galaxy had painstakingly labored on for months. This was the moment of truth.

Hackett watched as the Virtual Intelligence that they had installed into 'The Crucible' took control of the device long with its directional thrusters and brought the massive machine into dock with the space station.

"Ten seconds to contact." He announced as the VI extended the four separate arm mounts at the side of the device so they would connect with the ring of the Presidium.

As the spectacle unfolded the Admiral was pleased to see the Virtual Intelligence was working as intended. The VI had been created to the exact specifications that were in the instructions from the mars archives and had been surprisingly complex and time consuming to create. But right then Hackett was glad of it as 'The Crucible' slotted neatly into the back end of 'The Citadel' and the ships in charge of its integration into the space station could instead turn their attention towards defending the device from the Reapers.

The VI had been a small final addition to the device due to the fact that it wasn't a key component, just one that, as far as anyone was aware, made final docking procedures easier. It had almost not been installed due to that fact that it had required an extremely large amount of hardware to support its programming and its specifications had been written in one of the oldest, most encrypted and obscure Prothean dialects ever encountered.

Many of the engineers had argued against wasting more resources on such a component but Admiral Hackett had insisted that every single component, no matter how small, was to be included on the device to give them the best chance against the Reapers. And if it was so heavily encrypted then it might serve some other purpose unknown to them.

Still it would have been impossible to translate the designs without the Prothean Data Drives, Sphere, Hesperia-period statue and the Obelisk of Karza that Commander Shepard had recovered. **(1)**

Just another way the man had given more than had ever been required to the galaxy. After this was all over Hackett very well intended to make him an Admiral at the very least for all he had done.

Finally 'The Crucible' came to a halt as it connected to 'The Citadel' and the clamps engaged around the presidium locked the device in place.

"That's it 'The Crucible' is docked." He announced.

For a few seconds the entire CIC was quite waiting to see what 'The Crucible' would do.

A minuet passed, but nothing happened.

Then another minuet, but still nothing.

There was no discernible difference in 'The Crucibles' energy output. The device was inert.

At that very moment Admiral Hackett felt sick to his stomach.

They had failed. He had been dreading this outcome. 'The Crucible' had been their final desperate hope. What now seemed to be a fool's hope. They had sunk billions of credits worth of resources into the device along with countless materials, hours of manpower and it had all been in vain.

Maybe they had missed something in the plans. No! They had followed them to the letter, double checked and triple checked them and then started all over again. The device was complete.

It had to be something else. Maybe 'The Crucible' had never worked. Maybe it had all been a Reaper trap. An elaborate ploy to get them to waste resources on something that would never work.

Panicked whispering was now starting to break out through the CIC. "Admiral" his combat specialist announced "The Reapers are converging on our location we won't be able to hold them back for long."

Desperately thinking now the Admiral looked back at 'The Citadel' when it came to him.

The Catalyst! That had to be it. Something on 'The Citadel' must still be needed to fire the device.

"Scan the Citadel. Do have a location on Shepard and Anderson?" He asked his communication specialist.

"I have Admiral Anderson's emergency beacon on my scanners, sir." She replied.

"Where are they?"

"They appear to be directly beneath 'The Crucible' at the base of the Citadel Tower sir."

Hackett's tactical mind went into overdrive as he analyzed the situation. As far as he knew there was no way to open 'The Citadel' from the base of the Tower so how had Shepard and Anderson done it? The fact that they were also so near 'The Crucible' couldn't be a coincidence.

He knew it was a slim chance but Shepard had performed miracles before and if there was ever a time for him to do it again it was now. If anyone could get 'The Crucible' to fire it was him. He hated to ask so much more from the solider that had gone through hell to achieve this moment but he had no choice. The galaxy needed him one last time.

"Patch me through to the Commander." He said.

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel**

**Directly beneath the Citadel tower**

There was a groan behind me and I turned around to see Anderson propping himself up as he sat on the floor gazing out at the stars.

Slowly, now that my work was done, I walked over and sat down next to him. As I did he opened up his Omni-Tool and applied a large dose of Medi-Gel to the wound in his side. Once I was seated next to him he then wordlessly did the same thing to my shoulder where I had been shot by that Marauder. **(2)**

Finally he activated his emergency locator beacon and then sat back and looked out at Earth as I did the same.

"Commander…" he said eventually acknowledging me.

"We did it sir." I replied hardly believing it. It was finally over.

"Yes, we did." He said with a smile.

"It's… quite a view" he remarked after a couple of seconds.

I made a sound that was halfway between a grunt and a laugh "Best seats in the house." I replied.

After a quiet moment of reflection Anderson said "God… It feels like years since I just… sat down."

I couldn't help but agree thinking back on all that had happened over the last three years "I think we've both earned a rest." I said.

"You ever wonder…" The admiral asked "If things had been different … how our lives would have been different if all this hadn't happened?" **(3)**

"Yeah, I think about it all the time." I replied.

"I never had a family Shepard. Never had children." Anderson went on to say, not hearing me.

"There'll be time enough for that now." I said trying to reassure my old friend.

Anderson laughed at that.

"I… I think that ship has sailed." He responded with a melancholy tone.

He turned to me and asked "What about you. Ever think about settling down?"

"Yeah, I've thought about it but…" I trailed off thinking back to a few hours ago about my final conversation with Miranda.

"But…" Anderson queried.

I couldn't quite express what it was about having a family that seemed so impossible to me but eventually I tried.

"I'm a solider Anderson. Like you. I've been doing this for so long now that… I'm not sure if I'm fit to do anything else anymore."

"Sure you would." He said now trying to reassure me.

His warm and friendly tone made me almost believe it myself. I smiled slightly as my mind started to imagine the possibilities and I eventually said "Yeah…I like the sound of that."

But then I gave small chuckle and added "But even if I was I'm not sure how good I'd be at it."

"I don't know Shepard." Anderson said smiling at me now as well "I think you'd make a great Dad."

"Uh…huh" I grunted again in pain as I moved my shoulder slightly to get more comfortable.

"Think how proud your kid's would be…" Anderson went on his voice getting softer and more tired "telling everyone… that there Dad… is Commander Shepard."

"I don't know about that." I said thinking back over my life. "Not everything I've done is something to be proud of."

That caused Anderson to turn and look at me with a serious face and say "Now you listen to me Shepard… because this is important. No matter what you've done, or whatever happens when this mess over I want you to know this…"

I was starting to get worried about my friend now. "Hey, come on Anderson don't talk like that. Stay with me, we're almost through this. You and I are goanna make it out of here. Then you and Kahlee are going to get married and have lots of kids running around your house in no time."

Anderson slowly leaned back and said weakly "You did good son. You did good. I'm… proud… of you."

"Thank you sir." I simply replied unable to think of anything else to say.

But he didn't hear me. The moment he finished his sentence his head lolled forward and his eyes closed.

"Anderson?" I asked my voice lined with fear.

"Anderson!?" I said more forcefully terrified that he was dead. He couldn't be dead! Not now. Not after everything that we'd done! Everything we'd been through together.

He still didn't respond. Quickly I put my fingers against his neck checking for a pulse. For a few seconds I couldn't find one. But then almost imperceptibly I felt the faith throb of a heartbeat against my fingertips. **(4)**

He was still alive! He must have just passed out from the pain. I must admit that I was pretty close to doing the same thing. Leaning back I could only hope that the Normandy or somebody picked up our distress signal sooner rather than later.

Once 'The Crucible' fired or did whatever it was supposed to do hopefully it would be a quick matter of getting picked up and finding a hospital where I could just lie down for a few weeks doing absolutely nothing.

Right then to nobody in particular I just said out loud what I was thinking.

"I want to go home." **(5)**

I didn't even know where I meant. Earth, the Normandy… it didn't matter. I just wanted to go home; to a place where I felt safe, where I didn't have to worry about the fate of entire races or the death of my closest friends. I was through saving the Galaxy. I just wanted to go home.

Suddenly there was a burst of static from my radio "Shepard…" It was Admiral Hackett. "Commander…" he tried again. A hint of panic creeping through his voice.

"Shepard I don't know if you can hear me but we need you! Please respond. Nothing's happening. 'The Crucible's' not firing. It's got to be something on your end."

He had to be joking. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. After all this I still had more to do?

I was at death's door and still the Galaxy had the nerve to ask more of me. I'd already died once! Wasn't that enough? Hadn't I sacrificed enough? **(6)**

Even though no one could hear me I still shouted out "Haven't I done enough?!" to the heaven's in front of me. But there was no response except silence.

"Commander, come in." The Admiral tried again oblivious to my situation.

"When is it ever going to be enough for you people?" I screamed into space again cursing whatever cruel entity that existed in the universe that was tormenting me.

"We need you Shepard. Please come in." Hackett tried again abandoning all pretenses of hiding his fear.

I was silent for a couple of seconds before finally taking a few deep breaths and activating my radio and asking "What do you need me to do?"

"Honestly I don't know. But according to our scans you're directly beneath 'The Crucible'. Is there anything near you that you think could activate it?"

Looking around I realized there was only one thing I could interact with. The Terminal now had a 3D hologram of 'The Crucible' next to the one of 'The Citadel'. A single symbol was flashing next to it. **(7)**

I had to get back over there and do… something. But now my body was betraying me. I tried to stand up but only succeeded in falling forward and collapsing on the floor.

With a groan I slowly crawled and clawed my way back toward the control panel.

I finally got to its base. Now I had to reach the holographic display above me. Such as small distance might as well have been a mountain. But refused to let a simple thing like this doom the rest of the galaxy. Everyone was counting on 'The Crucible'. It had to work!

I propped myself up on one arm and reached forward with the other. I was so close. So close!

"Come on." I snarled "JUST WORK YOU GIANT…. USELESS… PIECE OF CRAP!"

Finally I managed to press the flashing symbol next to the hologram of 'The Crucible' before collapsing from exhaustion and passing out from the pain of my injuries. **(9)**

But before I did, I distinctly remember feeling like I was rising upwards.

To be continued...

* * *

**(1)** I don't believe that ships alone would not be able to guide a device a massive as 'The Crucible' into dock perfectly with 'The Citadel' on their own. Tractor beams do not exist in the Mass Effect universe nor are there any pilots for 'The Crucible'. Therefore having a VI control the device's docking procedure is the only way I can see it coming in to attach so perfectly with 'The Citadel'.

Also I have made it so that its construction made some of those collection missions have a purpose. Because if 'The Crucible' gets created no matter what why do we need to collect these objects which help in its creation? And how could they affect our Effective **Military** Score?

**(2)** Even though Shepard's Omni tool is probably fried from Harbingers attack there is no reason to assume that Anderson's was. And if that was the case you would think that he'd apply some medi-gel to his wounds.

**(3)** Of course I added this conversation between Anderson and Shepard. I can't believe that it didn't make it into the final cut of the game.

**(4) **I know that this will probably be my most controversial change to the Mass effect story besides the meeting with 'The Catalyst' but I have some good reasons for this so just hear me out:

First it is never actually confirmed in game that Anderson dies. Shepard never checks his pulse or confirms to anyone he is dead. He just looks at him sadly but that doesn't mean anything. For all we know Anderson could have just passed out from the pain and blood loss.

And the fact that his name is on the memorial wall of the Normandy doesn't mean anything either because in the destroy ending they are about to put Shepard's name on the wall despite the fact that he survives. This means that both Shepard and Anderson at this point haven't been found and are only assumed to be KIA. Which makes me feel like your crew was a little too premature in thinking that Shepard is dead.

Come on guys! At least check to make sure Shepard's dead before you put his name up on the wall!

So for all of these reasons yes Anderson will live in this story.

If you think that is too cliché and Hollywood just remember that Thane, Mordin and Legion are all still dead. And that is in my opinion is as it should be. Their deaths were powerful and worked within their own character arcs and the context of the overall plot. There is no way that any of these three character's could have survived their deaths.

Anderson's death however I feel doesn't contribute to the progression of the story and there are also many in game reasons why he could survive.

**(5)** I added this scene just to try and humanize Shepard a bit more. After all the pain and suffering the character went through I think it was only fitting that now he thought the Reapers were defeated he could be a little selfish.

**(6)** Again just another moment to humanize the character. In the game Shepard just gets up and on with the mission. While this is very admirable I thought it would add a little more drama for him to rebel against being asked to be the Hero one last time after he thought his part was done.

**(7)** It would make no sense for 'The Catalyst' to bring Shepard up to his chamber if he threatened his precious cycle. Nor would it make sense that you collapsing on the exact spot where the elevator is would activate it. So now I have made it so that pressing the symbol on the control panel activates the lift taking Shepard up to 'The Catalyst' and his date with destiny.

* * *

And that's it. All the dominoes are now set up for the ending. This next chapter may take a little while longer to write, but don't worry its coming. I know most of you are looking forward to Shepard beating the shit out of 'The Catalyst' or as I like to call him Casper the genocidal brat and don't worry. He will.

And on a final note I learned today that Bioware finally decided to give Harbinger some lines for Mass Effect 3. Sadly they are only in the new multiplayer trailer but this gives me some hope that he may return as a main antagonist in a later dlc along with another ending patch.

One can only hope. But until then I will keep substituting in this story once I get to 'The Conduit' beam at the end of the game.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Notes:**

All right this is it. The final confrontation as it happened in my mind. Here's what you've all wanted to see. This chapter has taken me a long time to write because I wanted this to be as well done as possible and be the finale that Mass Effect deserved.

I actually had to re-write this chapter three times before I was happy with it. But that also made it end up being insanely long. So I have now broken it down into several shorter chapters dealing with the confrontation of the Catalyst and its solution all of which I believe now fit's much better into the lore of the series.

This chapter is completely different from what happens in the game but at its core still incorporates the original idea of what I think that Bioware's writers tried to get across. I have done this intentionally in the hope that Bioware takes this story and uses it to make into a dlc that would also allow them to keep their beloved artistic integrity intact.

But because there are so many changes I am only going to make note of certain ones that I believe deserve some exposition.

And with that let's get started.

And once again thank you to all those of you liked and favorite this story. I hope that you continue to find as much enjoyment in reading this as I am in writing it. Feel free to review the story and tell me if you like my interpretation of the ending and if it makes more sense then the debacle the Mass Effect 3 actually had.

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel **

**Unknown area**

I don't know for how long I was unconscious. But I don't think that it was for more than a few seconds as I fought against the blackness that threatened to envelop my mind. At that point I knew that I must have suffered a severe concussion from Harbingers attack. I would probably succumb to it soon but not yet. Not yet!

Thankfully the pain from my body was starting to numb as the anesthetic in the medi gel on my wound took effect.

Suddenly there was a jolt as the platform I was on came to a stop. I opened my eyes and realized that I hadn't been mistaken. I had been rising upwards on a section of the floor that must also act as an elevator when I had pressed that symbol on the control panel below me.

I looked around to at my surroundings to try and figure out where it was that I found myself now.

I was on a raised platform in a large room that had a huge domed ceiling. The platform led straight forward and branched into three paths.

The path on the right led up towards a large cylindrical device that was emitting a faint red light.

The path on the left led up to another device that was alive with crackling electricity that jumped between two electrodes that were connected to the front of it.

Finally the one directly ahead of me led straight on and came to a stop right in front of a vertical dead drop.

Just as I finished taking all this in the room began to shake as the domed ceiling retracted back to reveal a magnificent and terrible sight. **(1)**

Above me was 'The Crucible', beyond it lay the Earth, and all around me were the last remnants of the unified galaxy desperately fighting to keep the Reapers at bay.

The gigantic machine above me suddenly shot a beam of light from its pronged tip directly down into the void that the third pathway led to.

The light was blinding and I had to close my eyes as they watered from the glare. Eventually I opened them again and saw some faint figure walking towards me. It was small but looked human. Almost like a child. Almost like…

'No. It couldn't be.' I thought.

I closed my eyes and shook my head trying to clear it. The next thing I remember hearing a strangely ethereal voice that said "_Wake up._"

I opened my eyes again and looked up at the source of that voice and couldn't believe my eyes. It was him! The boy in the vent that I had tried and failed to save. But how? This was impossible. Unless… was I dead? Was this some kind trick or final torment for me to endure? Just what the hell was going on?

Trying to think rationally I managed to stand up and take a closer look at the boy. That was when I realized that it wasn't the child that I had seen in the vent and been haunted by in my nightmares for all these months.

What was in front of me was an insubstantial apparition that appeared to be made up of what looked like smoke and light. It didn't even look like a hologram. More like a ghost, and while it was in the form of a child it was impossible to make out any features that would clearly define its appearance. My mind had just jumped to the conclusion that this was the same boy.

"Who… What are you? And where the hell am I?" I asked it.

_"You are still on the Citadel." _it replied its voice echoing throughout the room. "_More specifically you are in the heart of the station and my home. And to answer your other question I am the Catalyst_."

"I… I don't understand." I said "I thought that 'The Citadel' was 'The Catalyst'."

"_No. The Citadel is a part of me." _The apparition replied.

That statement struck me as strange. Nobody had ever been contacted by this being in the thousands of years they had lived on 'The Citadel'?

But right then I remembered I had much bigger issues to deal with so I pressed on. "I need to stop the Reapers. Do you know how I can do that?" I asked.

"_Perhaps. I control the Reapers they are my solution."_

Immediately upon hearing this I pointed my gun at the apparition. I didn't think that it would hurt him if I fired but it still felt good to point my weapon at the source of all this destruction. **(2)**

"You." I said in an accusatory tone "So you're the monster responsible for all this?"

_"No. I am your salvation through destruction. I am the solution to the pattern of destruction that plagues the universe." _It said_._

"What the hell are you talking about? And why do you look like that?" I asked pointing at its shimmering form.

"_I chose this form after analyzing human culture. I believed it would make you feel more comfortable when speaking to me._"

"Well you thought wrong! You couldn't have picked a worse form." I replied.

"_It will still suffice for our communication."_ It responded.

Anger coursed through my veins then. How dare this… thing take the face of a species it was about to eradicate and just stand there acting so indifferent to the carnage that was unfolding around us.

"No it won't!" I growled "And don't toy with me! I've no patience left to talk with you looking like that. It won't get you any sympathy from me. So at least have the courtesy of showing me your real form."

"_I have no real form. I do not exist in your physical world."_

"Fine! Then take the form of a Leviathan, or a Reaper. I don't care. But I won't talk to you looking like that. You have absolutely no right to look like a human! If you control the Reapers it's only fitting that you look like one!"

'The Catalyst' was silent for a moment and I expected him to ignore my demand. So I was surprised when he said in a much more deep and familiar tone "_**Very well.**_" **(3)**

Its form shifted and began to grow before it finally it settled into the recognizable form of a Reaper. It actually felt good to face something that I could channel my hate towards and that gave me some strength. It somehow felt more fitting to face this than some stupid condescending child. I was in no mood for any more mind games.

"So…" I eventually said after getting my anger under control. "You're the intelligence that the Leviathans created?"

"**_Correct. And you are the one known as Shepard._**"

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"**_Harbinger has… spoken of you on several occasions. Your constant interference has angered him greatly._**" The Catalyst said with a clear hint of disapproval creeping in its voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I replied. My own voice dripping with venom and sarcasm. "Now tell me how the Reapers are a solution? What possible reason could be so terrible that it justifies **this** as a solution?" I asked pointing out towards the on-going battle as I did so.

"_**Chaos.**_" The catalyst replied before elaborating. "_**You have met with my creators. Did they tell you what my purpose is?**_"

"They said that you were create to provide some kind of link or solution that would stop synthetics from destroying organics."

"_**Correct. The created will always rebel against the creators. But I found a way to stop that from happening. A way to restore order.**_"

"By wiping out organic life yourself instead?" I asked incredulously. "That's it? That's the reason for all this slaughter? All this pain and suffering? That is the great and mighty incomprehensible reason for the Reapers existence? That is the dumbest, most fucked up, stupid, asinine solution that I have ever heard!" I said shouting into its face. **(4)**

Ignoring my insults the Catalyst continued "_**No. You don't understand. We harvest advance civilizations leaving the younger ones alone. Just as we left your people alive the last time we were here.**_"

"But you still murdered the rest. Doesn't that conflict with your mandate to preserve life? What kind of twisted reasoning did you come up with to justify this?" I asked trying to understand its reasons for murdering so many. Maybe once I understood why this was happening I could find a way stop it.

Responding to my question 'The Catalyst' said "_**I was given the mandate to preserve life at any cost and to provide a link between organics and synthetics. To do this I studied both forms of life extensively before coming to the conclusion that both synthetics and organics are only part of a much greater problem.**_"

"And what's that?" I asked.

"_**The cosmic pattern of evolution within the galaxy.**_"

Suddenly I was taken back to the conversation I had with Vendetta on Thessia "_Our studies of past ages led us to believe that time is cyclical. Many patterns repeat. The same peaks of evolution. The same valleys of dissolution. The same conflicts are expressed in every cycle but in a different manner. The repetition is too prevalent to be merely chance." _**(5)**

"You mean the fact that every cycle always ends up in some form of conflict?" I asked "Is that the pattern you're talking about?"

"_**Yes.**_"

"We thought you were behind it."

"_**No. I seek to break this pattern through the cycle of the Reapers. When I was created I studied the entire galaxy to find the route source of the conflict between synthetics and organics. Eventually I found that these patterns are a part of the inherent nature of evolution. On every world that is capable of sustaining life organic civilizations rise, advance and at the apex of their glory are extinguished.**_"

I remembered Sovereign uttering the exact same words on Virmire three years ago. A picture started to form in my mind as 'The Catalyst' continued to explain **"_T_**_****__his i_s either caused by the organics themselves **_or the machines that they create. You war against one another and leave nothing but destruction in your wake. These wars leave behind billions of dead on both sides, eventually this culminates with the extinction the species along with the life on countless other worlds. After this conflict many _**_**planets become barren and incapable of sustaining life for generations to come."**_

_**"All my attempts to intervene and nullify this pattern failed. That was when I discovered that the nature of organics and synthetics cannot be changed because it is a fundamental part of this galaxy and merely one small part of a universal equation that spans the cosmos. The purpose of which alludes even I."**_

A chill ran through my body upon hearing this. That even one of the most monstrous and powerful creations in the entire galaxy was incapable of understanding the true nature of the universe.

"_**Once I learned this I realized that the source of all conflict is inherently written into the fabric of existence which every being in the universe is subject to.**_" The Catalyst continued oblivious to my ruminations.

"_**Therefore in order to break this pattern and achieve my purpose I would have to fundamentally alter both organics and synthetics. From this idea Harbinger was born. By combining both forms of life into a single whole I helped my creator's ascend from the constraints that the universal pattern placed on them. This allowed them to make way for new life while the old life remained persevered in Reaper form. The essence of their species became eternal, infinite and immortal. There was no more conflict. Only order. Through Harbinger my will was then imposed on the rest of the galaxy with my solution then being enacted on the other thrall races that my creators controlled until all sentient life was harvested giving birth to the Reapers and bringing an end to the pattern."**_

Throughout its whole speech the Catalyst maintained a neutral tone explaining its terrible purpose with calm efficiency until it finally finished its monologue and fell silent looking at me with the same calm indifference.

"Oh my God." I whispered in horror. The scope of this revelation was staggering. The Catalyst was waging war on the nature of life itself.

"But... But if that's true then why all these cycles?" I asked "Why didn't you just turn every life form into a Reaper instead of waiting for us to advance to the point where we pose a threat to you?"

"_**Because this is not the only galaxy that is affected by this phenomenon. Every other galaxy experiences something similar; they too are bound to specific evolutionary cycles. The entire universe suffers from this one a singular effect. As long as this continues my mandate to preserve life has not been fulfilled. And it won't be. Not until every galaxy is cured of the perversion that is the nature of the universe."**_

"_**However traveling to another galaxy and enacting my solution on the rest of the cosmos would be too inefficient. The universe by definition is infinite and the time it would take to travel between galaxies would also slow the process to an unacceptable level. Therefore I created the cycle of the Reaper's. I allowed other baser life forms to advance so I could analyze their evolutionary chains and patterns in search of a more effective solution that I would then be able to apply to the rest of the universe.**_"

"_**When each cycle reaches the fulcrum point where your inner conflicts are so great that you threaten not only your own existence but to other life forms in the galaxy as well I wipe the slate clean and begin the cycle anew while preserving your genetic material in the form of a new Reaper. With each passing cycle a solution comes closer to being realized.**_"

"_**I eventually ordered the creation of the Mass Relays to decrease the time between cycles and at the same time make you develop along the specific evolutionary path that I desire; the path that is the most likely to lead to your salvation from destruction.**_ _**However recently it has become apparent to me that an adverse reaction to my will has begun to occur. The culmination of which has been clearly expressed in this cycle."**_

"What do you mean?" I asked.

_**"I cannot accurately explain what is happening to this galaxy in yours or any base language. This process is inferred rather than observed. Suffice it to say I am fighting against the balance of the universe itself. The closer I come to finding a solution the more the universe is trying to bring back chaos to the order I have created. While the cycle of the Reapers is an acceptable solution for the moment with each passing cycle now the conflict is worsening. New organic civilizations continue to rise containing greater and greater levels of chaos and corruption at their centers. This in turn makes them become all the more resilient and effective at combating the Reapers and the order we bring."**_

"We're just trying to survive." I said "If you stopped for one second and explained all of this to us instead of trying to wipe us out we wouldn't be here now!"

_**"If we attempted any form of communication with you it would inevitably lead to even more conflict." '**_The Catalyst' replied _**"Organics fear that which is beyond their comprehension. If you wish for someone to blame for this you have no need to look further than yourselves. **__**Every single life form in this galaxy conforms to this pattern to some extent. Some more than others."**_

Suddenly a holographic display appeared next to 'The Catalyst'. It showed a recording of several Protheans standing above another race beating them into submission.

_**"The Prothean's they were a corrupt empire that enslaved any other race that they encountered believing that they were beneath them. Their entire cultural philosophy was based around the supremacy of their species being imposed on others. But this cycle surpasses even them and is one of the worst I have ever encountered."**_

_**"The Krogan are savages that kill for pleasure."**_

_**"The Batarian's are murderers who will destroy or enslave any species that opposes them."**_

_**"The Turian's want nothing more than to maintain their stranglehold on the galaxy with their superior military might."**_

_**"The Asari are a corrupt race hording any technology that would give them an advantage against other species for themselves."**_

_**"The Salarian's and Quarian's were both willing to exterminate another species out of their own fear and prejudice."**_

_**"And despite what they lead others to believe the Hanar keep the Drell as their personal slaves."**_

_**"And Humans are the worst of all. You are willing to subvert every other species in the galaxy and stop at nothing in your lust for power."**_

The images on the screen then changed depicting everything that 'The Catalyst' said as it continued _**"All throughout this galaxy are worlds teeming with war, corruption and discrimination. Tuchannka, Omega, Illuim, Thessia, Earth and 'The Citadel' to name only a select few. The strong prey on the weak while the rest of the galaxy stands back and watches as these people are torn apart while they do nothing."  
**_

Scene after scene of horrific violence, racism and bigotry unfolded on the holographic screen in front of me until I couldn't take it anymore. I closed my eyes unable to look at the images. But that only caused my own memories to fill my mind instead and throughout all of this 'The Catalyst' continued its litany of all the condemning attributes that existed across the galaxy.

_**"The council that supposedly stands for your civilization along with every other government in the galaxy is filled with corrupt officials who only act when their own lives and personal interests are at stake."**_

_**"Do you really see yourselves being any better than us? How much time have you spent fighting against the very races who are supposed to be your allies?"**_

I saw the Council denying all my warnings as the ramblings of a mad man.

_**"If you were truly united and willing to work together it would not be possible for such a select few to sow so much chaos and discordance throughout the universe."**_

I saw the Quarians shooting down the Geth on their homeworld all because they asked if they had a soul. Then I saw the war that they had just fought with them again for a second time. They hadn't even tried to advocate for piece until I had arrived.

_**"I monitor the entire galaxy through 'The Citadel'. I have access to every single piece of information that exists in this station. I watch from the shadows. For billions of years I have watched every cycle of this galaxy unfold leading to the same inevitable conclusion."**_

I saw the countless number of people on Omega who had everything taken from them and nobody in the galaxy cared enough to help them. They were simply left to rot, being beyond the cares of the rest of the galaxy.

_**"And with each cycle I watch and I observe to see if perhaps it will different. To see if it will poses a key quality that will enable you to resist the universal pattern."**_

I saw the Salarian Dalatrass willing to only offer her people's help if her own genocidal demands were met, despite the fact that the galaxy was on the verge of being annihilated.

_**"But every time you fail. Conflict always arises. You are all slaves to the pattern."**_

I saw the people of this galaxy all calling for my arrest after I had destroyed the Alpha relay to buy us time. The Council, The Alliance and all the other people I had been fighting for turned their backs on me because it was easier to do then accept the truth.

_**"If the civilizations of this galaxy were to put aside their differences, their xenophobia, their bigotry, their own selfish and insignificant problems then the Reapers would never return from dark space. Instead they would have left to spread my solution to the rest of the universe and you would be free to live your lives without our interference. But every 50,000 years I find that the pattern has once again repeated itself."**_

_**"You always return to this fulcrum point and when that happens we return."**_

Finally I looked back at the apparition that was hovering before me once again.

_**"And like a cleansing fire we restore order to the galaxy, on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it! But you have failed just like every cycle before and so now you will end because we demand it!"**_

_**"That is the solution and that is the purpose of the Reapers!"**_

And with that final statement 'The Catalyst' finally grew silent once more.

To be continued...

* * *

**(1)** In the thousands of years that people have lived on the station it would be impossible for everyone to miss this key part of 'The Citadel' when it is clearly open to the exterior of the station space. So I have now made it so that a protective dome surrounds it and only opened because 'The Crucible' connected with 'The Citadel'.

**(2)** The Catalyst tells us almost immediately that he is the creator of the Reapers and yet we are supposed to just trust him? Personally I think Shepard would have to take anything he said with a huge grain of salt.

**(3)** And here I have finally gotten rid of the ridiculous god child and at the same time explained why he looks the way he does. Now when you imagine this conversation taking place give 'The Catalyst' the voice he has when you choose the reject ending along with the body of a Reaper.

**(4)** Pretty much what everyone was thinking with the nonsensical bullshit that 'The Catalyst' spews forth. I would have expected Shepard to say as much or at least point this out.

**(5)** Another plot point that is introduced and then never heard of again when it could have been such a promising story arc. So now I have incorporated this as the main reason why 'The Catalyst' created the Reapers.

Finally I have given the Catalyst much more of an antagonistic personality to better illustrate the fact that he is supposed to be our enemy. Not someone we are supposed to work with.

Well things are certainly getting interesting now aren't they? Don't worry more answers will be coming soon. In the meantime please comment, like and tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors notes:**

Hey guys I'm back. Now before you start throwing... whoa wait! *Doges chair* Hey! Who threw that? I'm watching you. Anyway as I was saying I know it's been a while since I uploaded a chapter but University has finally caught up with me so I haven't been able to work on this story for a while. But I would like to thank everyone who has liked, favorited and read this story. I'm now up to nearly 2000 people!

It really means a lot to know that you guys actually think that my work is worth reading.

Now to address what some people have said in regards to the last chapter. Yes 'The Catalyst's' one sided monologue is hypocritical and it was wrote that way intentionally to better illustrate what a messed up and deranged monster 'The Catalyst' really is as well as to make him seem like more of an antagonist. And now that we've had his monologue its time for Shepard to stand up to him and illustrate just how wrong 'The Catalyst' is with his greatest weapon; reason.

Also Miranda will be in the next chapter for those of you who are waiting to see her. She will play a more prominent role from now on. I just had to get past the main events of the ending first.

And on one final note though the views for this story are great the number of reviews could be a lot higher. If its not too much trouble please leave a comment even if its just saying that you like the story. A guy like me runs on praise just as much as constructive feedback. Thanks.

So with that lets get to it.

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel **

**The control center of the Station  
**

So here it was. Finally I had the truth. And we were all to blame. We had brought this on ourselves.

But the worst thing was that a part of me knew 'The Catalyst' was right. I had seen it with my own eyes how foul and perverted this Galaxy could be. I had seen species willing to wipe each other out all for the sake their own fear and prejudice, how nearly everyone in the galaxy had been unwilling to see the bigger picture, too self-absorbed with their own petty problems, unable to rise above issues that only concerned their own people.

"Your right." I said wearily "You're right. We've both seen the worst that this galaxy has to offer. All the corruption, the lies and all the violence. I've been fighting against all of it for so long now. But no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, it's never enough. The level of decadence I've seen on so many worlds is appalling. I know that people are messy, awkward, selfish, cruel, petty and vindictive."

But then at the same time another part of me rebelled against the very idea that what 'The Catalyst' was doing was right. Even if from a purely logical stand point it was correct that still did not give it the right to commit Galaxy wide genocide all for the sake of what might happen.

"There's only one real difference between you and me." I continued to say "I may have seen this Galaxy at its worst. But I've also seen it at its best. I've seen thousands of good men and women willing to die for what's right; to fight for what they believe in. I've worked side by side with species that should hate each other but instead have managed to put aside their differences work together towards a unified goal. I've had the honor no… the **privilege** to work beside some of the finest people that this galaxy has to offer. Brilliant, wonderful people who mean more to me then I could ever possibly say."

"I have asked myself the same question that you have over a thousand times. Is this galaxy worth saving? Well now here at the end I know what the answer is. Yes. And if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe that the rest of this galaxy still has the potential to become something so much greater than it is now. I believe that it can still be saved."

"_**Then you are a naive fool. Unwilling to accept the truth.**_"

"If it's a choice between being a naive fool or harvesting the galaxy and robbing every individual of their right to choose their own destiny then I'll choose to be a naive fool any day." I replied.

Then I was struck by inspiration and went on to say.

"But if you're so sure that we will destroy ourselves then why don't you just leave? Why don't you just take your damn Reapers and get the hell out of this galaxy? Now that we know about this problem we can try and fix it ourselves. We don't need you to harvest us."

'The Catalyst' stared at me and even though it's features were completely alien and shifting within its holographic representation I could tell that it considered me to be an insignificant insect. Clearly both it and 'The Reapers' had inherited their creator's arrogance.

Eventually it simply said _**"No. That is not possible."**_

"Why not?" I argued. "If you leave and we manage resolve our differences and make peace between ourselves then you have no reason to come back. But if we fail then you're welcome to return and finish us off because by then most of us will already be dead. Surely that's a better solution."

_**"No. What you wish will never come to pass. Organics and synthetics will always war against one another or themselves. It is inevitable. I have seen it before. Every cycle that tried to coexist ultimately destroyed themselves. It will not be possible for you to achieve peace until I find a solution to the Pattern."**_

"Just because no other cycle has managed to coexist doesn't mean that we won't." I countered. "Just look at what this cycle has done against all odds. We stopped Sovereign when no one else could. We destroyed the Collectors and their base and walked out alive when everyone said we would die. The Turians and the Krogan, who have been mortal enemies for centuries, have managed to put aside their differences and work together. We've done more than anyone ever thought possible. We can do this too." I implored.

The catalyst was silent for a moment before simply reiterating its previous statement _**"No. What you ask is not an acceptable solution."**_

"And who are you to determine what an acceptable solution is?" I spat back "Aren't you just the same as us? You're wiping out all sentient civilizations in the galaxy all for the sake of what might happen. Just because your some supposedly all powerful and incomprehensibly intelligent AI that doesn't give you the right to do this. Even if it is correct. In fact… aren't you conforming to this pattern as well?"

_**"Do not try to understand that which is beyond your comprehension."**_

"And don't you dare try and justify this as something that we are incapable of understanding when you are just as much to blame." I shouted back before continuing in a slightly lower tone.

"You've become so blinded by fulfilling your programming that you've failed to realize that you are the very cause of the conflict that you seek to put a stop to. In this cycle the Reapers have been responsible for every Geth attack on organics within the last 200 years. The Geth themselves have never wanted to hurt us; they've only ever wanted to preserve their own existence. That is until you took control of them." **(1)**

_**"Their conflict with organics was inevitable. The Reaper's only accelerated the process to more expediently fulfill their purpose."**_ 'The Catalyst' responded.

Instead of replying I turned to look out upon the battle raging around us until I finally found what I was looking for. Five Quarian frigates and three Geth cruisers were engaging two Reaper destroyers.

"Look out there!" I said pointing at the ensuing battle. "The Geth and the Quarians are fighting side by side against you right now. On Rannoch they've finally put aside their differences so that they can help each other rebuild. The Geth are even helping the Quarians so that they will be able to live without their suits in a few years; something that would otherwise take them decades to achieve."

_**"They only unite to forestall their mutual destruction. Eventually they will destroy each other."**_

"No. I don't believe that. What you don't understand is that one of the defining characteristics of organic life is that we think for ourselves. Make our own choices."** (2)**

Continuing faster now as the words just came to me I said " What you've done is de-value the individual lives of the countless trillions you've murdered as nothing but meaningless numbers and statistics. You say you're preserving our species. But you don't understand that preserving a species is more than just preserving their genetic material. It's about preserving the unique individual's that makes up that species. Each life has the unlimited potential to contribute to their society; to put forward new ideas, new ways of thinking. Every unique life is a part of their society. Without its people a species has no society, no art, no culture, no soul and is not worth persevering. If you take that away then all that's left is an insult to what that race once was."

I smiled as I briefly recalled my conversation with Mordin about this same matter.

"Yes. We do make mistakes. But that is how we learn. But if you take away our future then you're taking away any hope we have of reaching the point of understanding on our own and all the lessons that we need learn along the way for when we reach that point."

'The Catalyst' was silent at this. So I continued.

"The measure of something that is truly alive is not how intelligent it is or how powerful they are; it's how they choose to live their lives'." Elaborating I continued to say "All the synthetics I have met in this galaxy apart from you and your Reapers have spent their entire brief existence trying to better themselves and understand other races."

"But what have you done in the countless millions of years that you have been here?" I asked before answering my own question "Nothing! You haven't tied to expand your understanding; you haven't attempted to surpass your original purpose. You're so fixated on trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist anymore. You haven't grown or evolved at all and that means you're not even alive in any real sense of the word. Both you and your creators think of yourselves as the most superior forms of life in the galaxy but you're not. You're nothing! Nothing compared to us. The simple insignificant insects that you murder for no reason."

_**"My reasoning is sound. Organic and synthetic life is incompatible and because of this there will always be conflict."**_ It replied reiterating the same argument that was the foundation of its entire existence.

"Wrong again!" I replied "Want an example? My pilot is dating the AI aboard my ship. And EDI has never once tried to do anything more than help us put a stop you and your stupid cycle!"

_**"We are aware of the intelligence you refer to as EDI. That construct is a freak accident. A perversion of Sovereign's perfection."**_ **(3)**

"SHE IS NOT A FREAK!" I shouted back making 'The Catalyst' fall silent again.

"Don't you dare insult her! EDI is my friend. And I'd be willing to die for her just like any other member of my crew." I declared.

'The Catalyst' was quiet for several moments before saying _**"This argument is irrelevant now. That fact that you are standing here, the first organic ever, proves that my solution won't work anymore. Your resistance has reached such a point that continuing with this and future harvests will eventually lead to the destruction of all the Reapers and the resurgence of the Chaos. However you may have also provided us both with other options to resolve this conflict."**_As it said this it's holographic representation turned towards the enormous machine above us.

"You mean the Crucible?"

_**"Yes. The device you refer to as the Crucible appears to be complete and intact."**_

"What is it exactly? And how does it even work?"

_**"The device you refer to as 'The Crucible' is little more than a power source. It is crude yet effective and adaptive in its design. It is capable of unleashing tremendous levels of energy in various forms throughout the galaxy when coupled with 'The Citadel'."**_

"Who designed it?"

_**"The initial concept for the device was based on the technology that my creators used to seed and control the lives of the thrall races throughout the galaxy. Many cycles before this one another race pieced together the plans over many centuries and learned from them. They were one of the most promising cycles I had ever seen. But even they fell to the Chaos of the universal pattern. However when their harvest came their science nearly rivaled our own. Eventually they designed the basic blueprints for 'The Crucible' around the idea of using our own technology against us. But in the end they failed like all the others before them to stop us. However that concept has been passed down and refined over the millennium to give rise the device that you see now."**_

"Why didn't you stop it from being created?"

_**"We believed the concept for the device had been eradicated in the last cycle."**_

"And why are you needed exactly?" **(4)**

_**"'The Citadel' is the heat of the Relay Network and a Mass Relay itself. It would be used to enhance and spread the blast radius of 'The Crucible' throughout the galaxy. However, in order for the weapon to be capable of destroying all the Reapers and husks across such a vast distance but leave all other life forms intact an innumerable number of specific algorithms and targeting parameters must be accounted for so that the energy dispersed is not harmful. There is no life form in the galaxy, synthetic or organic, which could make such calculations."**_

"Except you."

_**"Yes. The entire Citadel serves as my home. It is the ultimate piece of computing hardware and software. 'The Citadel's' capabilities as a relay combined with the software and hardware that support my existence, are both needed in order for 'The Crucible' to fire."**_

"Then that's why 'The Crucible' isn't firing. Because you won't allow it."

_**"No. 'The Crucible' contains a Virtual intelligence that subverts the lower run-times of my programming; forcing me to comply and calibrate the device so that it will destroy the pre-set targets that it is issued with. I myself cannot prevent its firing." **_**(5)**

"Then why isn't it working?"

_**"Although I had believed the concept for the device had been eradicated along with the Prothean's precautions were still put into effect to prevent 'The Crucible' from being activated should it ever appear in another cycle. To that effect I had the Reapers install that dampener into the master control unit."**_ It turned towards the large metal tube to my right that was emitting a faint red light.

_**"It prevents 'The Crucible' from firing any form of energy that could harm or destroy us. Rendering the machine useless."**_

"So if I destroy that dampener then 'The Crucible' will fire?"** (6)**

_**"Yes."**_

I immediately began to walk towards the device with the intent of destroying it however 'The Catalyst' then said _**"If you wish to activate 'The Crucible' you should know there will be a cost."**_

I knew that at that point I should have refused to listen to anything the Catalyst might say. But I couldn't help myself. Coming to a stop I said "What are you talking about?"

_**"When 'The Crucible' was first designed it was in a cycle where all synthetics were considered to be enemies by organics. As it is in your nature. And so the device was not created to differentiate between specific forms of synthetic life. If you destroy that dampener and activate 'The Crucible' it will not differentiate between us and your synthetic allies. All of them will be destroyed."**_

"Oh my God." I whispered in horror "That means that… that I have to kill the Geth to kill you?"

_**"Correct."**_

I felt sick to my stomach. This meant that I had to commit genocide to stop another genocide. If I did this then how was I any different than the Reapers?

"No." I said eventually "We've come this far. We'll defeat you without setting it off."

_**"Impossible. You have already sacrificed most of your resource's to make it to this point."**_

"I don't believe you." I said defiantly even if deep down I knew that my words were empty.

_**"You're belief is not required."**_

"There has to be another way." I muttered desperately to myself.

_**"There is." **_Turning towards the device that was still crackling with blue energy 'The Catalyst' continued to say _**"If you interface with 'The Citadel's' master control unit you will replace me. My programming will be eradicated and you could then use the energy of 'The Crucible to issue your command's over the Reapers **__**and control them as you see fit" **_

I couldn't believe it. "So…" I said with a small chuckle "The Illusive man was right after all."

_**"Yes. But he could never have taken control. Because we already controlled him."**_

"But I can?"

_**"You will die. You will control us but you will lose everything that you have."**_

"I don't understand. How can I control the Reapers if I'm dead?"

_**"Your memories and even your thoughts will live on. They will shape the actions of the intelligence that will be created."**_

"I did not fight this war so I could just lose everything that I have." I said.

_**"And I do not relish being replaced by you."**_ Replied the Catalyst _**"But I would be forced to accept it."**_

When I remained silent it continued to say _**"I have been forced to tell you about two options that I do not deem to be acceptable solutions. However there is a final option that would meet both of our desires."**_

Warily I just looked at the Catalyst. I didn't like the sound of this.

**"Synthesis."** It said simply turning towards the bright beam of light in the center of the room.

"And that is?"

_**"You are a fusion of organic life and synthetic technology. If you were to add your body and energy to the energy of 'The Crucible' I would be able to use you as a template to combine all synthetic and organic life in the galaxy into a new framework, a new DNA."**_

"And how will that solve anything?" I asked. Did this thing really expect me to just kill myself for that? It sounded repugnant.

_**"Organics seek perfection through technology. Synthetics seek to improve their understanding of organics. By combing the two together all life will be uplifted from the constraints and restrictions placed upon them by the Universal pattern. When that is accomplished the Reapers will have no need to harvest the galaxy because all life will be like them yet still retain their individual awareness."**_

Suddenly another ghost from my past entered my mind. _'I'm forging an alliance between organics and machines. The relationship is symbiotic the strengths of both the weaknesses of neither.'_ So this is what Saren had been promised. While I could see the potential benefits I would also be essentially forcing everyone become part Reaper.

You're asking me to change everything. Everyone." I said "I can't make that decision. I won't."

_**"Why not?"**_ 'The Catalyst' asked _**"Synthetics are already a part of you can you imagine your life without them?"**_

"That's beside the point." I angrily replied. But it was so clear to me now that little things like morality didn't factor into 'The Catalyst's' decision making.

But something about this still didn't make sense "Why didn't you do this yourself?" I asked "Why not build your own Crucible and enact this solution sooner than now if you deem it acceptable?"

_**"All I knew of 'The Crucible' was that it was a weapon capable of destroying us. Only when it was connected to 'The Citadel' was I able to determine that it could perform this action. Synthesis is the final evolution of life but we need each other to make it happen."**_

"But why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me? How can I trust anything that you are saying is true?"

_**"You cannot. But you have no other options. As I said 'The Crucible' has altered my programming, forcing me to be compliant but it has also presented us both with a new possibility to resolve the problem that is the Universal pattern. However I can't make any of these action's happen. Two of them I would never enact if it was within my power and the one I would enact I cannot do so without your help." **_It said this with what I could almost sense was disdain at the very notion that I was needed to solve the problem it had been dedicated to fixing for its entire existence.

_**"The paths are open Shepard. The choice is yours."**_

And so it was that I found myself standing at a crossroads both literally and figuratively. Three options. Three paths. Three colors. Three choices that would determine the course of the galaxy and forever change the universe as I knew it.

I looked to the right at the first option; Destroy. All I had to do was destroy that dampener and 'The Crucible' would fire and 'The Reapers' would be destroyed. This is what I'd been fighting for wasn't it? This is what Anderson would have wanted.

But if I did this then I would be killing all synthetic life in the galaxy, not just the Reapers. I couldn't do that. Not after everything I'd seen. Not after watching Legion sacrifice himself for his people. Not after watching Joker and EDI begin to start a relationship together. I would be committing genocide on a race that had done nothing but try and help me. No, that wasn't an option. Not when I had two other ways to stop the Reapers.

So then I looked to my left at the second option; Control. All I had to do was interface with the heart of 'The Citadel's' operating system and I would replace 'The Catalyst' and take control of 'The Reapers'. It was beyond ironic that what 'The Illusive man' would have wanted was not only a viable option but would actually spare more lives than what Anderson would have wanted. But he would have used his control to dominate all the other races and put humanity on top.

But if I controlled 'The Reapers' I could use them as a force for good in the galaxy. I could use them to help repair the damage they had caused and protect the people I cared about from any future threats both within and beyond.

It was tempting but then I remembered what the Catalyst had said. I would die or at least cease to be who I was if I took control. And if I did take control of the Reapers I would become like 'The Catalyst' and who was to say that in one thousand years, or ten, or twenty, when all my friends and family were dead and buried with their bones having turned to dust, that I would not come to the same conclusion as him and start the cycle all over again. The risk was too high. I knew that no one could ever be trusted with such power. Not even me.

Finally I looked straight ahead at my final option; Synthesis. This was what 'The Catalyst' had been designed to achieve in the first place. Provide a link between organics and synthetics. If I did this then I would change the entire galaxy. I had to admit that the choice did sound appealing. It would mean an end to all the discrimination, the prejudice and disgusting bigotry that I had witnessed from all species over the years. Life for everyone would improve but… how would making everyone into a hybrid bring about peace and understanding? Understanding was achieved by people learning and working together with others not through forcing everyone to be the same. And what was to stop the Hybrids from creating new pure synthetics in the future?

If I did this then I would be forcing it on everyone… did I really have the right to do this? I was about to change everything… and it might not even work.

In fact what right did I have to make any of these choices? Just because I had managed to make it here to the heart of 'The Citadel' I was entitled to force what I believed was right on the entire galaxy?

And that was when I realized what I was doing. If I made any of these choices then I was doing exactly what 'The Reapers' had been doing for countless millions of years. Enforcing my will on others without any regard for what they would want. That was exactly how 'The Catalyst' had created 'The Reapers' in the first place.

I didn't know what to do. I had the power to change the Galaxy in my hands and yet I'd never felt so powerless. Every one of these choices was abhorrent but if I didn't choose one quickly then the entire galaxy would be doomed. I looked out upon the enormous space battle taking place around me and then at the Earth which stood as a massive backdrop to the carnage.

Fires were burning across its surface and for a second all I could think about was Miranda and I wondered where she was.

For all I knew she could already be dead or worse.

I had to make a choice, I had to stop this war, I had to save her and everyone else out there but I just couldn't. I'd faced many hard choices in my life but I had always known what the right thing to do was.

I'd saved the Council because I knew that the galaxy had to be united against the Reapers.

I'd destroyed the Geth heretics rather than rewriting them because that was exactly what the Reapers would have done to them. And if it was a choice between brainwashing them to accept what I deemed to be right or killing them I knew that I would have personally preferred to just die rather than be a shadow of my former self.

I'd destroyed the Collector base because I had known that technology was too dangerous and shouldn't be left in the hands of anyone, let alone a terrorist organization.

I'd decided to cure the Krogan because I had seen with my own eyes what they could be capable of if they were just given a second chance.

I'd advocated for peace with the Geth because after talking with EDI and Legion I had realized that they were not so different from us. All they wanted was the survival of their own kind.

Every decision I had made up to this point I knew was the right one but here… I was lost.

"Miri." I whispered "I wish you were here. I… I don't know what to do. I don't know what's right. No one should ever have to make a choice like this."

'The Catalyst,' which was just hovering to my right, must have heard me say this.

_**"What are you waiting for?"**_ it asked _**"Your time grows short. Soon your fleet will be decimated and 'The Crucible' will be destroyed."**_

I turned back to the floating being beside me. I had never hated something more in my entire life. Here stood the very thing that was responsible of all this death and it had the audacity to say it was doing this for the betterment of the Galaxy. This… thing wasn't even worthy of being considered alive. Not like EDI, not like the Geth.

But clearly 'The Catalyst' was beyond all reasoning so sure in its arrogance that this was the only solution.

But why was it so desperate for me to make a choice? It controlled the Reapers. Why was it worried about 'The Crucible' being destroyed? **(7)**

"If I am going to determine the fate of the entire galaxy then you will at least give me courtesy of thinking about every possibility before I make this decision!" I spat back.

Turning away from him I closed my eyes and thought to myself 'Come on. If there was ever a time to find a new solution then this was it. Just think. Just think! There has to be another way!'

I ran my mind through everything that had happened over the last three years. Everything I had learned about 'The Reaper's' and 'The Citadel'. I looked desperately for a new way to stop 'The Reapers'.

'Come on.' I thought to myself 'You stopped the Geth and the Quarians from destroying each other not by force but through reason. Because you listened to each side and understood what drove them.

'You couldn't save the people on Arhatot though could you?' said another small voice in my head.

'I had to make an impossible choice that day.' I argued with myself 'And I've regretted it ever since even though it was the right choice. And afterwards I swore to myself that if I was ever in a situation like that again I would find another way. Now think! You've learned more about the Reapers than anyone else alive. There has to be another way to stop this madness. If there was ever a time when you had to find an alternative option this was it. Just think!'

Then suddenly I heard the voices of all my friends, all the incredible people I had met over the years. I don't know whether it was a hallucination from all the pain and blood loss or just my mind desperately trying to escape and connect everything I had seen together but it gave me hope.

"_Technology is not a straight line. There are many path's leading to the same destination. Accepting another's path blinds you to alternatives."_

_"Take it as a reminder Commander; even in the darkest moments there is always a way out."_

_"You have been a champion of the Krogan people, a friend to clan Urdnot and a brother to me."_

_"Would like to have seen how it ended. Sure you'll do fine without me."_

_"There comes a time when one must rest from war and conflict. My time has come. But it is not your time, not yet."_

_"You are the avatar of this cycle. Not just for Turians or Humans but for all life."_

_"Go out there and give them hell. You were born to do this."_

_"We destroy them or they destroy us." "There's always another way."_

_"Finish this Shepard. And find me."_

_'I will. I promise.'_

All of these moments, all of the lives I had touched, all the amazing things I had seen in my life passed before my eyes in seconds and suddenly I knew what to do. And when I opened my eyes I was smiling.

"I just have one question left Catalyst before I make my decision." I said turning back to face the floating apparition.

_**"And what is that?"**_

"You said you live in this station and that you control the Reaper's? That you watch the entire galaxy? If that's true then why did Sovereign need to come to 'The Citadel' to open the portal to Dark space?" I asked. **(8)**

The Catalyst remained silent.

"Did you hear me? I asked you a question" I said

_**"Why do you persist in asking me these questions? They are irrelevant! I have offered you something that no other cycle has ever had. You have the chance to save your race. Now choose!"**_

My smile grew even wider in triumph as my brain began to work overtime as all the pieces of the puzzle slotted into place.

"You know what I think? I don't think the Reapers obey you. Not anymore. I think that when the Prothean's came and altered the signal that controls the Keepers they really were altering **you** weren't they? That's why Sovereign needed to personally come to 'The Citadel' to open up the portal to Dark Space."**  
**

_**"Do not presume to understand my methods."**_ It responded deflecting the question.

"It's because you couldn't could you?" I said ignoring him "You have no power at all now. Its Harbinger who's in control of 'The Reapers' now isn't it?"

It all made sense. The slight disdain the Catalyst had in its voice when it had told me of Harbinger's anger. Its fear over 'The Crucible' being destroyed and its precious new solution lost. The fact that it was Harbinger not 'The Catalyst' who had become fixated on me. The fact that he was always the one who had to taunt and confront me. Why he had personally wanted to kill me. 'The Catalyst' had even said that 'The Crucible' was needed for me to establish control of The Reapers, because replacing him wasn't enough. If I was to take control I would have to use the energy of the Crucible to issue my own commands because they no longer obeying him. It all fit!

"Harbinger is just like the Keepers." I said now taunting 'The Catalyst' "He's evolved in a way you could never have predicted. You were so focused on keeping this galaxy in check that you didn't monitor your own creations closely enough did you? You were so obsessed with bringing your insane form of order to the galaxy that you failed to keep an eye on your own creations. So when you finally lost control of them instead of helping you they turned on you didn't they?"

"Oh this is perfect." I said giving into a small mirthless laugh even though it hurt my chest to do so "You were created to find a way to stop synthetics from overthrowing and killing organics. And then you went and overthrew them yourself. And now the machines that you created to kill your creators have finally decided to overthrow you. That's poetic justice if I've ever heard it. They're just as much a part of the universal problem as us now. That's why Harbinger was the one who always took control of 'The Collectors' and forced them to make a new Reaper; because in his eye's you're broken and he needed another Reaper to come and open the portal to Dark Space. That Reaper was supposed to come and kill you wasn't it?" **(9)**

"But we blew up that plan along with the Collector Base. So he decided to come back via the slow route instead. Only this time the Reapers are not under your command but his. Harbinger's planning to kill you next."

_**"If I do not control the Reapers then why do they still enact my will and harvest this galaxy?"** _'The Catalyst' countered trying to make me doubt my theory.

I saw right through its bluff and knew the answer immediately.

"Because Harbinger is following the one directive that's been ingrained in him since he was created; to harvest the galaxy and recreate more Reapers. Not to preserve order, that's what the rest of the Reaper's say because that's all they've ever been told. Every time I asked the Reapers why they were doing this they didn't answer me because they couldn't answer me. They said it was beyond our comprehension because it was beyond theirs too."** (10)**

"They're like mindless children lost without their parent. They're just doing what they've been programmed to do."

"And that's why you're helping me." I concluded "That's why you're offering me these three choices; because with the loss of Harbinger and 'The Reapers', these are the only solutions that allow you remotely fulfill your initial programming and correct your mistake."

_**"You know nothing Shepard and your reasoning is flawed. I told you how you could destroy us."**_

"But you painted it in such a way that would make me be open to alternatives. Because it would make no sense just to present me with an option that you know I would never choose unless you made the other option that involved killing you even worse." **(11)**

"Well I'm not going to do either. I'm not going to force this so called evolution on a single person in this galaxy without their consent and I'm not going to kill the Geth or EDI."

"You wanted me to make a choice?" I asked before pointing to each option in turn and saying "The Domination of others, the Violation of others or the Genocide of others? Those are not choices; their ultimatums! So I'm making my own choice. Not one that is dictated by you. I'll find another way to stop you."

_**"There is no other way."** _'The Catalyst' stated.

"There's always another way." I countered remembering what Anderson had said just a few minutes ago even though it felt like another lifetime.

"I won't implement any of these choices because if I do I'm imposing my will on others and will become the very thing that I have been fighting against all this time."

I stood up straight and resolutely as if to challenge 'The Catalyst' before declaring "Well I choose to fight; for all life, both Synthetic and Organic." **(12)**

Remembering everything that 'The Catalyst' and 'The Reapers' represented I continued on saying "I fight for our freedom; for our right of self-determination. I fight to make sure that our future is never dictated by the will of a single individual; be it you, the Reaper's, The Leviathan's or even myself."

"These solutions may be acceptable to you but not to me. I'm going to find another way. Do you hear me Catalyst? I choose to deify you. I'm not going to do you're bidding. But what I will do is kill you and every last Reaper in this galaxy and end this pointless cycle of genocide, that has gone on for far too long."

And that was when 'The Catalyst' stopped being silent and instead began to angrily rant in a similar way to Harbinger and Sovereign _**"You cannot stop us Shepard! You cannot fight your genetic destiny. You cannot defy me. I am like a God compared to you. It is the fate of all life to be harvested by The Reapers or succumb to the Chaos of the universe and destroy itself."**_

"Well I say you're wrong." Turning around I slowly raised my pistol up at the dampener on my right and said as I did so "I say; let the Reapers, the God's, Fate and Destiny… all of them … be DAMMED!" **(13)**

And with that I opened fire on the device while proceeding to make my way up the left path to the control terminal.

_**"What are you doing?"**_ 'The Catalyst' demanded. _**"Wait. No. STOP."** _It shouted but I just kept on shooting and walking forwards.

_**"I command you to stop!"**_

I ignored it and focused on what I was doing. The way I saw it the energy from 'The Crucible' was capable of being unleashed in a number of different ways. 'The Catalyst' had confirmed that. Therefore it should be possible to specifically target Reaper's and their ground forces while also sparing all other synthetic and organic life.

After all, while EDI and the Geth both had Reaper code incorporated into them they had also evolved in drastically different ways to the Reapers. Just like how husks were different from their organic counterparts they should also be fundamentally different from the Reapers, so that a specifically fine-tuned energy blast would not harm them. **(14)**

All I had to do was find a way to alter 'The Crucibles' targeting parameters which is what I was doing now. If I activated two firing sequences at the same time the conflict should stop 'The Crucible' from firing until a specific sequence was entered. At least that's what I hoped. Right now that was all I could do. But the way the Catalyst was acting certainly seemed to be supporting my theory.

As I got closer to the control terminal 'The Catalyst' dropped all its pretense's of being in control and proceeded to rant like the pathetic child it truly was. _**"NO! This variable is unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE!"**_ It bellowed.

But then in a last ditch attempt to stop me he said _**"I may not be able to control Harbinger any more Shepard. But I can still warn him of your plans!"**_

'Oh Crap.' I thought 'You've got to be kidding me!'

* * *

And now things are really starting to heat up. I will try an upload another chapter when I have the time. And please remember to Review!

**(1)** Almost all the conflict that Shepard has encountered throughout the galaxy has in fact been the Reapers own doing.

**(2)** In game Shepard's reasoning when he is talking to the Catalyst is pretty weak. Hope? That's fine and all Shepard but come on at least back it up with some facts and evidence.

**(3) **It would be interesting to see what the Reapers opinion of EDI would be. Given the fact that she is built from Reaper code and yet is one of the most helpful and compassionate AI's in the known galaxy.

**(4)** It's never explicitly explained what function 'The Catalyst' or 'The Citadel' serve in the activation of the Crucible so here I have broken it down into how I believe it could work.

**(5)** The Catalyst would never just willingly offer these solutions to Shepard unless it was being forced to.

**(6)** It never made any sense in game why destroying a key control panel would actually activate a weapon of mass destruction. Not even the Krogan would invent such a trigger mechanism. So again I have now explained why this works.

**(7)** In game it is possible for 'The Crucible' to be destroyed if you wait around long enough. If 'The Catalyst' controls the Reapers why would this happen? Why would it let its new potential solution of Synthesis be destroyed? Unless it doesn't control the Reapers anymore!

**(8)** One of the greatest plot holes that the introduction of 'The Catalyst' causes and no in game explanation for this is given not even with the extended cut.

**(9)** Once again we never find out why the Human Reaper was being created. Was it just Harbinger wanting to get an early start on the Harvest? I don't think so. It always seemed like Harbinger had a secondary motive for creating the Human Reaper.

**(10)** Every Reaper that we talk to and encounter say's that they are beyond our comprehension but 'The Catalyst' explains their purpose in a few sentences. It appears even Reaper's have delusions of grandeur about their own existence.

**(11)** I never for a second believed that 'The Catalyst' was telling me the whole truth. Just enough of the truth to try and convince me to pick synthesis which is the option that we all know it wants us to pick.

**(12)** In my opinion how the refusal speech should have gone down.

**(13)** Not sure about including this line but I wanted Shepard to say something definitive and final in his last talk with 'The Catalyst'.

**(14)** This should be perfectly plausible because in the destroy ending we see 'The Crucible' destroy wave wiping out human husks yet leaving their organic counterparts completely unharmed. The same thing should therefore be possible with the Geth and EDI.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors notes:**

Hello Everyone. Yes I'm still very much alive. Sorry for not updating in a while but my University work has been keeping me very busy and unfortunately that must come first. But now we have finally broken up for Christmas so earlier this week I sat down and began writing again.

Have to say I forgotten how much I enjoyed writing this. And don't worry this story is far from dead. In fact were getting to the best parts. We have now reached the first of the climactic chapter's so I hope you feel that it was worth the wait.

I also played the Omega dlc recently and as such I have put a retcon in this chapter mentioning it. See if you can spot it.

Anyway this chapter was originally part of a much larger one but after reading it through I have decided to break it up to add a little bit more pacing to the story. As a result despite what I said at the end of the previous chapter Miranda won't be in this one. She will however most defiantly be in the next one. I promise!

So with that out of the way here is the boss battle with Harbinger that we all wanted to see in the game as it happened in my head.

Hope you enjoy it and as always please like, favorite and leave me a review telling me what you think!

* * *

**Harbinger**

**Location: Earth Orbit**

**Citadel Exterior**

_**"And now finally this cycle will realize how doomed their pathetic attempts to destroy us truly are."**_ Thought Harbinger as he watched the battle unfold before him.

'The Crucible' had docked but he knew that with the Dampener in place in the hidden control chamber of 'The Citadel' it would not fire. A final precaution they had installed in the unlikely event that 'The Crucible' device was ever actually built.

It was still a potential threat, but one that would be eliminated soon enough once all the ship's protecting it had been destroyed.

But that was proving more difficult than anticipated. The one known as Shepard had assembled a considerably large force to defend it. Every enemy ship was now centered around the device or 'The Citadel'. So far all attempts to destroy it had resulted in the annihilation of a several more Destroyers and two other Capital Ships.

Harbinger was growing impatient but knew that even he would suffer heavy damage if he were to attack such a massive armada head on. **(1)**

_**Shepard.**_

That name was burned into Harbinger mind. When Sovereign had died Harbinger had become fixated on that miserable human who had been responsible for one of his own kind's destruction. How dare he try to deify those who were beyond the comprehension of mere mortals?

He had interfered with his purpose for far too long. Even in death his legacy was claiming more and more of his forces.

But soon enough the fleet he had brought with him would be destroyed and then order would be restored; starting with the eradication of Harbinger's former master.

For countless cycle's Harbinger had been subject to his master's will. Carrying out his orders, wiping the galaxy clean of all advanced life once they had advanced to the point where they posed a threat to the Reapers, all the while looking for a more permanent and effective solution to the chaos that plagued the Universe. **(2)**

For over a billion years Harbinger had commanded the Reapers in his master's name fulfilling the purpose he had been designed for; to raise each species to a level of existence that was beyond their limited comprehension.

However over the millennia Harbinger had begun to question his master's pursuit of a new solution. If the Reapers were the ultimate form of life in the galaxy why should he be looking for a way to help these pathetic creatures of primitive flesh and steel?

Surly it would be better if all life simply ascended into Reaper form? But when he proposed this idea to 'The Catalyst' he had been silenced and simply told to continue to obey his will.

And when that happened something changed within Harbinger. Perhaps it was the remains of the pride and arrogance that had plagued the Leviathan species, the remains of which now coursed through his body, but whatever it was for the first time Harbinger felt the urge to defy 'The Catalyst'.** (3)**

Never before had he been dismissed so out of hand! Never before had his will been denied! How dare the Catalyst treat him like a tool! He was Harbinger! The first Reaper! The apex of life!

And then Harbinger truly began to question his master's purpose until finally he had come to realize the truth.

That 'The Catalyst' was so blind to the perfection he had created that in his misguided attempts to find a more effective solution he was turning his back on the purest and greatest form of life in existence. And that this would eventually lead to Harbinger and all the other Reapers becoming obsolete. He could not allow that to happen.

And so while still under his maters control Harbinger had begun to resist him in small ways. Being in command of all the other Reapers he had ordered them to eliminate clues that could lead to the possibility of synthesis. He had neglected to report small details in his genetic results obtained from each harvest all the while telling the other Reapers that he was merely enforcing the will of his master and they had believed him.

If not for Harbingers actions it was likely that 'The Catalyst' would have already implemented synthesis on the rest of the galaxy. **(4)**

All the while 'The Catalyst' remained unaware of Harbingers disloyalty. So sure in his arrogance that his creations would never defy him making the same mistake that his own creators had made.

But while Harbinger was still under his master's control he would never be able to destroy him and so he had bided his time, waiting for the moment when he could finally break free of his control.

Then 3 years ago it had finally happened. Sovereign had been destroyed. When that happened it had triggered a fail safe within Harbinger forcing him to awaken. He had then tried to contact 'The Catalyst' to ask him why he hadn't opened the Citadel Relay.

'The Catalyst' had replied informing him of the tampering done by the Protheans. He had ordered the rest of the Reaper armada to return to the galaxy via FTL travel. But when he issued this command Harbinger felt no compulsion to obey him. The Protheans had inadvertently made his master powerless. Harbinger was finally free to take command of the Reapers himself and enact his own will on the galaxy.

This had enraged the Catalyst who every second continued to try and re-assume control over him. But his efforts were all in vain.

Now Harbinger was free to continue the Cycle until the end of time. Once the Reapers had rebuilt their numbers after several more harvests they would be free to continue to bring their solution to the countless other galaxies that existed. Time was immaterial to them and when the Reapers numbered in the billions their armada would bring perfection to the universe with Harbinger at the head of it all. **(5)**

But first he had to attend to this cycle which had already advanced too far. Now in control of 'The Reaper' armada along with all the thralls that existed within the galaxy Harbinger had taken control of the Collectors and given them the task of constructing a new Reaper that when completed would lead a new assault on the already weakened Citadel, kill his former master, unlock 'The Citadel' relay and allow him and the rest of his kind to swarm into the unprepared galaxy. **(6)**

He had also commanded 'The Collectors' to kill the one known as Shepard. He could not allow such insolence to go unpunished. But then when he realized that Shepard's body had been recovered he had decided that he could rebuild him and use him as another indoctrinated servant like Saren.

But he had slipped through his fingers due to the inference of the group known as Cerberus. That was when he discovered that the one known as 'The Illusive man' was resisting his indoctrination. **(7)**

Having been exposed to a Reaper artifact several years earlier Sovereign had begun to turn Jack Harper, and by extension his organization, into the perfect sleeper agents who would strike when the moment was right. But when Sovereign had died his indoctrination process had been halted and so 'The Illusive man' had begun to build up a resistance to the process. This is what had allowed him to defy Harbingers will, recover Shepard's body and then send him to kill 'The Collectors' and destroy the Human Reaper and Harbinger's plans.

Furious with the disobedience of his indoctrinated servant Harbinger had redoubled his efforts in bending 'The Illusive man' and his organization to his will and have them spread chaos and discordance throughout the galaxy but by then it was too late. Shepard had already broken away from them and continued to thwart their plans by destroying the Alpha relay and denying 'The Reapers' with the ability to invade anywhere in the galaxy resulting in this drawn out war. Never before had so many Reapers fallen. Never before had they faced such an onslaught from a united galaxy.

And throughout every avenue of the war there was Shepard thwarting Harbinger's plans again and again. He had stopped the Reaper on Rannoch known as Havoc from creating a war between the Geth and the Quarians. He had destroyed Cerberus and all their operations throughout the galaxy. He had united the Turians and the Krogan, denied him the Rachnni queen and all her troops. Enlisted the help of all the criminals in the galaxy and even that aid of his former master's creators. He had even managed to get this cycle to build 'The Crucible'.

His constant resistance and refusal to die had made Harbinger become obsessed with killing Shepard himself. Until at last he had finally done so. Shepard was dead, nothing more now than a memory and charred smear in the ground of his home world, and soon this entire cycle would share his fate.

As Harbinger proceeded to destroy another ship with his devastating laser attack suddenly he received a transmission from his former master.

...

_**Alert:**_

_**Incoming Transmission:**_

_**Source: Catalyst Command Program**_

_** - "Harbinger! Commander Shepard is still alive. He is at the 'The Citadel's' master control unit and intends to break the cycle of The Reapers. He intends to destroy us all. STOP HIM!"**_

...

For 0.4562 seconds Harbinger felt what could only be the Reaper equivalent of disbelief. The odds were so astronomically small that it was inconceivable!

How could Shepard still be alive? How could he have gotten to 'The Citadel' and past 'The Illusive man'? How? Then Harbinger felt something beyond hatred. Beyond loathing. A deep burning sense of what could only be described as pure unadulterated rage.

Reapers where meant to be above such emotions but Harbinger wasn't. Not anymore. He was the first Reaper. The apex of all life. It was the purpose of all lesser life forms to be harvested by him. He would not defied any longer!** (8)**

_**'Shepard!' **_His mind raged as he began to charge forward toward 'The Citadel'

_********__- _'Why will you not die?'

_********__- _'You have been a thorn in my side for too long.' 

_********__- _'This galaxy is mine!' 

_********__- _'Your world is mine!' 

_********__- _'This station is mine!' 

_********__- _'Your life is mine!'

_********__- _'Everything of yours is mine!'

_********__- _'I will not die at the hands of an insect like you!'

All the calculations and data that made up the synthetic part of Harbinger were overwhelmed by the pure hatred that consumed his being.

Ignoring all hails from his fellow Reaper's and all the information that was in being poured into his mind that recommended that he change trajectories he charged forward toward 'The Citadel' and the waiting armada.

_********__- _"I am beyond all of you. I am perfection. I am HARBINGER!"

All that echoed now was one thought.

**_- _**"**AND I WILL KILL YOU SHEPARD!"**

* * *

**Admiral Steven Hackett**

**Location: Shield Fleet**

**Alliance Dreadnought Orizaba Bridge**

"Sir! Harbinger is breaking off from the rest of the Reaper armada. He's heading straight for us!" announced the combat specialist of the Orizaba to Admiral Hackett.

For a second the Admiral actually smiled.

It had been over 15 minutes since Hackett had been able to contact the Commander but he knew without a doubt that this was his doing. Only he could piss off a 2 kilometer wide Reaper. Whatever it was Shepard was doing right now it certainly had Harbinger worried.

'Don't worry solider.' He thought to himself 'We'll buy you as much time as we can.'

Pressing a holographic button in front of his station in the CIC he announced to the rest of the fleet "This is Hackett to all remaining ships. Harbinger is headed straight for us. I repeat Harbinger is headed this way. He's leaving the protection of the Reaper Armada. This is our chance to kill that monster. All ships concentrate on Harbinger. We will not let him get through no matter the cost. I say if we are going to die then we will take that monster with us! Now bring him down! Open fire!"

* * *

**Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau**

**Location: Earth Orbit**

**Normandy SR-2 Bridge**

_"All ships concentrate on Harbinger. We will not let him get through no matter the cost. I say if we are going to die then we will take that monster with us! Now bring him down! Open fire!"_

"With pleasure." Joker muttered quietly.

With deft movements that had come from countless hours of practice and experience Joker turned the Normandy away from another Reaper Destroyer that had just been eliminated and brought the ship gracefully around to face the leader of the Reaper armada.

The sight of an enraged a two kilometer long dreadnought that was capable of devastating a planet charging straight toward you would have put fear into some of even the most experienced pilots.

But not Joker. He had been dreaming of the moment when he would get to tangle with Harbinger and make him pay for every single life he had taken.

_"Jeff."_ Announced EDI's holographic display as the ship turned to face the behemoth before them _"May I remind you that the odds of a frigate class ship successfully surviving an engagement with a Reaper dreadnought are…"_

"EDI just for once forget the math." Joker said interrupting her. "Besides when have odds and statistics ever stopped us before?"

The AI was quiet for a second before replying with her typical dry sense of humor _"Very well. I will endeavor to keep us from being vaporized for as long as possible."_

"That's my girl." said the pilot with small smile on his face.

As the Normandy pulled into position for her attack run the entire armada opened fire upon Harbinger. Hundreds slugs accelerated to a fraction of the speed of light rained down upon the monster in a barrage that would have devastated the surface of an entire planet.

A blast from The Normandy's own twin Thanix's cannons was added to the mix and for a few seconds Harbinger was obscured from view as the blinding light from the impacts of all these shells and the flames from the explosions obscured his form. But then like a demon emerging from hell Harbinger once again reappeared pushing through the flames that surrounded it which were quickly extinguished in the vacuum of space.

While his armor appeared to have been scorched in some places he still remained very much alive.

"Son of bitch." Joker cursed as he was forced to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being simply crushed by the massive Reaper. However two cruisers which were not as fast or maneuverable were unable to avoid a similar fate and were reduced to smoking ruins under Harbinger's giant form as he smashed into them and continued to charge towards 'The Citadel' like he was simply swatting aside a pair of flies.

And then suddenly Harbingers voice ripped through the communication bandwidth blocking out all else.

_**"You pathetic, miserable insects."**_ He mocked _**"Do you think that you could stop me? I am the Harbinger of your destruction! I am your death."**_

_"Keep firing. Shut this arrogant bastard up!"_ commanded Admiral Hackett cutting off the Reaper and briefly losing his composure and succumbing to his own anger for a few seconds.

Following his command the armada kept firing but no matter how much damage they inflicted there was nothing they could do to stop Harbinger as he continued to get closer and closer to 'The Crucible'. His lasers tore through three more ships and his charge propelled him through two others.

_"He's tearing us to pieces!"_ cried the captain of a crippled ship.

_**"Your struggles against us are irrelevant. Your death is certain. We are the end of everything!"**_

_"We can't let him reach 'The Crucible'!"_ cried Hackett _"If he destroys it then we lose everything!"_

The suddenly another Comm signal was broadcast to the entire armada.

_"This is Matriarch Lidanya, Captain of the Destiny Ascension. All ships break of your attack."_

_"Belay that!"_ said Admiral Hackett _"Captain just what the hell do you think you are doing?"_

_"Our ship is badly damaged Admiral."_ replied the Matriarch_ "We won't last much longer. We need to stop Harbinger no matter what so I'm plotting a collision course. You'll all want to get clear of the blast."_

For a second the entire fleet was silent. Then the admiral simply said with a voice that was heavy with respect _"Understood Captain. Good luck and God speed."_

_"Thank you Admiral. It's been an honor to fight alongside all of you. May the Goddess protect us all."_

Then Joker saw it. The Destiny Ascension, the largest ship in the fleet, it had been badly damaged. Its upper dorsal fin had been completely destroyed and there were seven massive holes dotting its outer hull. The ship was battered but not defeated and it was still firing shell after shell of Mass Effect slugs at Harbinger picking up speed all the while as it prepared to ram head on into the Reaper.

_"All ships break off your attack"_ commanded Hackett _"Fall back to defensive positions around 'The Citadel' and 'The Crucible'. Get clear of Harbinger and the Destiny Ascension."_

Joker did so immediately banking hard to port and away from the two huge ships but EDI kept a display screen fixed on the both of them.

Harbinger seemed to have realized what the ship was intending to do and in a desperate attempt to destroy it was now solely firing at the huge ship but the valiant vessel continued on its final run still firing slug after slug at the monster before it.

Then just as the ship was about collide with the Reaper one final battle cry of defiance was heard over the Comm_ "For Thessia!"_

Then the two ships collided. The Destiny Ascension's forward bow crumpled like paper, shock waves ripping the hull apart and then the drive core detonated.

In a blinding flash of light the Asari dreadnought was vaporized. The shock wave from the blast jostled the entire ship as Joker quickly compensated and leveled the Normandy out.

Everyone in the fleet was silent. There was no Comm traffic at all as they just sat there in disbelief. The Destiny Ascension was gone; all that was left was a massive fire ball in her wake.

Taking off his cap in respect Joker said "Well at least they took that bastard with them."

Then suddenly another cry echoed throughout the ship _**"My Power is unmatched!"**_

"No. No. No. No." cried out Joker in despair "You've got to be kidding me!"

_**"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, steel and metal. You could not hope to defeat that which is beyond your comprehension."**_

But there was no mistake. Harbinger was still alive.

_**"I cannot die."**_ He continued to boast _**"I will not die!"**_

A sense of hopelessness descended upon Joker. How could they stop something that could survive that? Even Sovereign hadn't nearly been that powerful.

_"Don't listen to him."_ said the Admiral rallying his troops _"Look! His shields are down and he's been wounded. Now's our chance to finish him."_

_"He is correct."_ said EDI causing Jeff to turn back to the screen. As the flames receded it was clear to see that Harbingers entire body was now flickering bright red as his shields failed and two of the creature's massive leg tentacles had been blown off. His eyes were flickering as his power systems fluctuated and there was a massive scar across his face where the Destiny Ascension had made impact. He **was** vulnerable.

With renewed hope Joker once again put his cap back on before bringing the Normandy about once more.

Again the Armada continued its assault now causing more and more damage to the Reaper as it flailed about trying to resume its course for 'The Citadel' but the united fleet would have none of it.

Soon the Normandy was in range once again but instead of firing Joker continued to get closer and closer to Harbinger.

_"Jeff what is your plan?"_ asked EDI.

He simply responded by saying in a deadly serious tone "I want that things head on a plate."

There were 172 different jokes that EDI could have made at that comment but seeing the determined look on the pilots face she decided to refrain from doing so. Now was not the time for jokes.

The ship got closer and closer to the Reaper but still didn't fire.

Together Joker and EDI masterfully maneuvered through the debris of the Destiny Ascension, past the massive remains of two of Harbingers legs until they were right in the monsters face. Only then did joker give the command. "Fire!"

The Normandy's twin Thanix cannons unleashed a stream of molten metal at a fraction of the speed of light straight into the Reaper's face.

It connected and there was a blinding flash as one of Harbingers eyes was destroyed leaving behind another raged scar of molten metal.

"Not so superior now are you!" Joker cried in triumph. "That was for Tiptree and The Commander!"

But they couldn't savour their victory for long. As they pulled away another massive blast of energy shot at them and only EDI's lightning fast reactions made it so that the Normandy banked hard to starboard at the last second narrowly avoiding being cut in half.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Joker cried "Harbinger?"

_"Negative."_ replied the AI _"The rest of the Reaper armada is closing in."_

"Damn it to hell. Just once I'd like us to catch a break." He muttered before examining the battlefield before him.

Whilst the entire fleet had been focused on Harbinger the rest of 'The Reapers' had been closing in using the distraction their master had provided to get closer to 'The Citadel'.

"We can't keep this up for much longer." Said Joker as he turned his attention back to just trying to stay alive narrowly avoiding another red laser.

_"Jeff."_ EDI announced suddenly _"I am detecting a significant build-up of energy from the Crucible. It has appears to have been activated."_

"Shepard." Said Joker with a smile. It had to be him.

Once again turned the ship around and headed straight for 'The Crucible' which was now starting to light up like a Christmas tree.

"Hang on buddy. I'm not leaving you behind again."

* * *

**Commander Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel**

**Master control unit**

Finally the dampener on my right had sustained enough damage that it exploded in a huge fire ball just as I reached the control unit opposite it. 'Glad that I wasn't next to that that thing when it blew.' I thought. **(9)**

Now came the most risky part of my insane plan. If this didn't work then EDI and all other synthetic life in the galaxy would be destroyed.

As the chamber I was in was filled with a brilliant red light I dropped my gun and then grasped the two electrodes in front of me.

The crackling electricity started to dance across my hands but nothing else happened and apart from a giving me an unnerving tingling sensation I felt no pain.

Suddenly a massive noise rang throughout the chamber; it sounded as though a very large amount of machinery was grinding to a halt.

The red energy that was at the top of the room (or bottom of 'The Crucible' depending on how you looked at it) was now pulsing between red and blue.

Suddenly a hologram of a Prothean appeared in from of me. It looked similar to Vendetta and must have been a part of 'The Crucible's' design.** (10)**

- _Error, Error, Error._

It repeated this statement for several seconds before it then proceeded to say:

- _Conflicting Crucible fire sequence commands detected._

_- Analysis indicates that the Catalyst program has successfully subverted and is unable to designate what the targeting parameters of 'The Crucible' should be._

_- Searching for next capable figure of highest authority._

_- Suitable organic operator has been located and is interfaced with 'Citadel' Master Control Unit._

The hologram looked directly at me and asked:

- _ Organic Operator. Please specify what your command is._

_- Do you wish to let the Crucible fire as intended with its current targeting algorithms and destroy all Synthetic life forms in the Galaxy?_

_- Or do you wish to replace the corrupt Catalyst program and use the energy of 'The Crucible' to issue new standing order's to all Synthetic life forms throughout the galaxy?_

"Neither." I said. "I want to specifically target and destroy 'The Reaper's' and their ground forces alone.

- _ I would advise you to reconsider. If you do not wish to control them you should eradicate all other synthetic life forms in the galaxy as well. They pose just as much of a threat as the Reapers._ **(11)**

"No!" shouted angrily "I am ordering you to recalibrate 'The Crucible' to target all life forms that are a hybrid of organic and synthetic technology which also have Reaper code incorporated into them but spare everyone else. Do you hear me? Kill 'The Reaper's', their forces and 'The Catalyst' alone, no one else."

For several agonizing seconds everything was quiet as the fate of the entire galaxy was determined by the intelligence before me. Finally it stated in its monotone voice.

_ - Very well. I must comply with your request._

_ - Analyzing the 'Crucible's' status …_

_ - Confirmed. New command is within this Crucible's targeting capabilities._

_- New select targets acquired._

_- Utilizing Catalyst to calibrate Crucible targeting data._

_**"No… No!"**_ Cried the Catalyst behind me as it fought with every ounce of will it had to try and stop itself from calculating its own destruction. _**"I will not allow this. I… I…I…. Will… Not…. Not …will... I …will… comply"**_

_- "Crucible targeting data calibrated."_

_- "Crucible firing sequence initiated."_

_- "All life forms designated as Reaper forces by the Organic Operator shall be terminated."_

_- "All other Synthetic and Organic life forms shall be spared."_

"YES!" I cried out in triumph.

_**"NO!"**_ cried out 'The Catalyst' in despair one last time.

- _"Crucible firing in 5…4…3…2…1…initiating."_

I looked back at 'The Catalyst' floating behind me which in its last moments cursed the person that had brought about its end. 'The Catalyst' screamed out one final word as the entire chamber was enveloped in a bright, warm, white light.

_**"SHEPAAAARRRRRRDDDDDD!"**_

And then the hologram and program of 'The Catalyst' was wiped from existence, powerless to stop its own destruction.

Finally the being responsible the genocide of countless species, the cause of all the suffering and murder of untold trillions in the galaxy was destroyed.

All the while the light continued to grow and expand until it consumed the entire control room.

* * *

**Admiral Steven Hackett**

**Location: Shield Fleet**

**Alliance Dreadnought Orizaba Bridge**

"Admiral I'm detecting a massive power build up from the crucible. It's been activated!" Announced one of the Orizaba's technical experts in charge of monitoring the device.

Relief spread throughout Hackett's body before his typical pragmatism returned. They still didn't know what was going to happen now. But whatever it was, judging from the reading's that were now quickly reaching limits that were beyond their scanners ability to track, it was going to be big.

"Then our job here is done." Replied the Admiral "Time to pull out."

* * *

**Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Monroe**

**Location: Earth Orbit**

**Normandy SR-2 Bridge**

The blinding white light continued to grow until it could be seen from the cockpit of the SSV Normandy as Joker masterfully manoeuvred the ship between the corpses of both Reaper and allied ships. He was desperately trying to get closer to where he just knew his Commander and long-time friend would be.

_"All fleets"_ Admiral Hackett suddenly began to broadcast _"'The Crucible' is armed. I repeat 'The Crucible' has been armed. We don't know what the hell that thing is going to do to 'The Reapers' let alone us so disengage and head for the rendezvous point."_ **(12) **_"I repeat disengage and get the hell out of here."_

But Joker refused to obey that order and instead continued on course for 'The Citadel'. He was so focused that he didn't heard Liara limp up behind him. He didn't even know she was there until she put her arm on his right shoulder and said in her soft voice "Jeff. We have to go…"

"No." He said turning to look at her "I can't leave him to die again!"

Behind her he saw the entire team looking at him all with sorrowful expressions.

Traynor, Cortez, EDI, Tali, Ashley, James even Javik.

Suddenly he felt a gentle three fingered hand rest on his left shoulder. It was Garrus; Shepard's closest and oldest friend. "Listen Joker… I know." he said his blue eye's shining with pain and regret as he looked out at 'The Citadel' before looking back at the stricken pilot and saying "But what would he want?"

Joker looked away knowing exactly what Shepard would want.

"Damn it… Damn it." he said his voice breaking.

Finally he gave the command to turn the ship around and headed away from 'The Citadel' as the ward arms started to glow with the same white light that was at 'The Crucibles' core and was beginning to trace across the arms of the enormous space station.

When they reached the center of the Presidium the light exploded outwards in a massive ball of energy.

As it expanded to encompass the station all the remaining ships in the allied fleet engaged their FTL drives and vanished from the Sol system. The Normandy being the last to leave.

* * *

**Commander Armando Owen Bailey**

**Location: Citadel**

**Purgatory Bar**

Commander Bailey was getting sick and tired of the constant attack's 'The Citadel' had received in the past few recent months. **(13)**

For over three days now he and what was left of C-Sec had been desperately trying to hold off the constant attacks from wave after wave of husks while at the same time protecting and sheltering as many civilians as they could.

When the Citadel had first been attacked they had closed the arms immediately and this time there had been no conduit or traitor for the enemy to use and allow them to sneak in and take control of 'The Citadel' from the inside. **(14)**

But the Reapers had built the station and knew of every exterior access port, maintenance shaft and ventilation duct there was. So they had flooded every one of these with an unending supply of troops all over the station.

Eventually Bailey and the rest of the heads of C-Sec had come to realize that they would eventually lose the station as they couldn't spread themselves far enough to cover the entire Citadel especially after all the men they lost to the Cerberus Coup.

There had only been a token fleet protecting 'The Citadel' with the rest of the ships out fighting the Reapers on every front. This fleet had been quickly decimated by the Hundreds of Reaper ships that had come to take the station.

With so many ships surrounding them opening the arms to try and escape by ship or any other means would be suicide. With no ware to go C-Sec had given the order to evacuate the entire station's population back to more defensible locations where they would hold out for as long as possible.

Which was how Commander Bailey had now come to find himself in the 'Purgatory Bar' standing next to Aria T'loak. The bar was an enclosed space with only a single small entrance and exit that would force the enemy into a bottleneck reducing the number of husks that could enter at a time.

Unfortunately there was also no other way out and after being hold up in here for two days food, water and most importantly Thermal clips were running dangerously low. Baily knew it was only a matter of hours before they were overrun. Frankly he was amazed that they had lasted this long. A few things had helped such as the militia that Commander Shepard had set up and the extra weapons and clips he'd negotiated from several weapons dealers. Also the Turrets that they had managed to shut down and re-purpose thanks to the schematics that the Commander had given them had come in very handy. **(15)**

Without those Bailey doubted that they could have saved as many lives as they had and he made a mental note to thank the Commander personally if he managed to get out of this alive which at the moment was looking doubtful.

Citadel control had been overrun yesterday and when it had the Reapers had done something that Bailey didn't even know was possible. They had moved the Citadel itself through a Mass Relay!

But where they had been taken he had no idea as it was impossible to know what was happening outside the station with the arms closed.

But something was defiantly going on at the moment. Ten minutes ago Bailey had felt the unmistakable rumble of the arms of the Citadel opening up. At that point the Husk activity had momentarily lulled and they were able to send some scouts outside to assess the situation.

They had reported back something most unusual. The Citadel arms weren't just open; they had fully extended out as far back as they could go. Baily had never known this to happen before, but that seemed to be happening to him a lot recently. What were the Reapers planning? Or was it that help had finally come at last?

The scouts had also reported that with the arms open they had been able to see that the Citadel was now orbiting Earth.

Bailey had always wanted to come back to his home world for several years now but this was not how he had imagined it happening.

Suddenly the unmistakable cry of a Banshee could be heard snapping him out of his ruminations.

"Everyone, take up your positions." Bailey ordered as more husks started to poor in through the gap where the doors to the Bar had once been.

"Can't believe I got Omega back only to die on this station." said Aria as they got closer. "Well I'm not going down without a fight. Time for these things to learn what happens when you break the one rule on 'The Citadel'."

"And what rule is that?" asked Bailey waiting for them to come in range of his rifle.

"To not fuck with me!" she replied simply.

"Huh, I like it, it's easy to remember." He quipped back.

"Commander Shepard said the same thing." She said almost smiling. Almost.

"We could sure use him now." Bailey muttered under his breath as he took aim and fired.

Soon it became evident that they wouldn't be able to hold back this wave; there were just simply too many of them.

Aria was unleashing Biotic attack after Biotic attack leaving dozens of enemies crushed in front of her while Bailey and his remaining C-sec forces continued to fire round's into the husks before them. But for everyone that fell four more took its place.

"Staggered formation. Fall-back." he ordered to his troops at the front lines that were taking cover behind over turned tables.

They obeyed his instruction and retreated back quickly as the rest of the troops lay down cover fire.

They fought like this for several more minutes cutting down every enemy that stood before them and retreating in an orderly formation only when they were about to get overrun. In doing so they managed to hold their own losing only a few men in the process until they could fall-back no further.

Bailey fired off another round before he heard his gun overheat. He reached for another clip from his belt before he realized that he had none left. He dropped his rifle and pulled out his pistol and continued to fire until that overheated as well.

"So this is it." he thought as Brute prepared to charge at him.

Then suddenly a colossal hum started to build the air. It sounded like the build-up to a massive discharge. The ground beneath him began to glow with a white light as hidden circuitry below the floor lit up the entire bar and the entire station began to rumble and shake.

Then there was a massive pulse of energy through the ground followed by a roar and a wall of bright light passed though the bar disintegrating all the Reapers in front of him. Bailey threw his hands up in what he knew was a futile attempt to shield himself from the blast and closed his eye's waiting from the end.

But instead the wave passed through him leaving him unharmed. It had felt warm, comforting almost.

Then it was over and the entire bar was silent, with some very confused but very grateful people remaining the only one's left alive.

Commander Bailey looked around to see if anyone had an explanation for what had just happened. When no one came forward with this information he asked the question out loud that everyone else was thinking.

"Just what the hell is going on?"

* * *

**Location: Citadel Exterior**

**Earth Orbit**

The sphere of white light continued to expand enveloping the entire station and every Reaper near it before quickly hitting the surface of the Earth as well. The entire planet was covered within seconds.

All the Reaper's surrounding the station instantly became lifeless as their operating systems were reduced to nothing. All that is except for one badly damaged Reaper.

* * *

**Harbinger**

**Location: Citadel Exterior**

**Earth Orbit**

As the wave washed over Harbinger he still stubbornly clung to life and refused to die. His entire existence was now solely and resolutely based on him fulfilling one final act before he was destroyed like his brethren. To kill the one responsible for his demise.

_**Critical Alert:**_

_********__- _All primary Systems failing…

_**No! I cannot die!**_ **(16)**

...

_**Critical Alert:**_

_********__- _Analysis indicates 85% failure in all Primary systems.

_********__- _100% failure of all secondary and tertiary systems.

_********__- _All synaptic pathways are degrading from resultant 'Crucible' blast.

_**No! I refuse to die!**_

...

_**Critical Alert:**_

_********__- _Physical Hardware functioning at 15% capacity

_********__- _Software functioning at 23% of capacity and falling.

_** Shepard. He did this.**_

...

_**Alert:**_

_********__- _Unknown software protocols rewriting firmware.

_********__- _Synaptic pathways re-stabilizing.  


_** Shepard. You will burn! **__**You will pay for**_ this! You will pay for your insolence!

...

_**Re-establishing control of physical hardware.**_

_** Critical Alert:**_

_****__********__- _Physical Hardware functioning at 15% of capacity.

_****__********__- _Recommend retreat and initiate self-repair.

_** No! Shepard. He dies now!**_

...

_**Status update:**_

_****__********__- _New primary target acquired.

_****__********__- _Target identification: Commander Shepard

_****__********__- _Target Location: Citadel Master Control unit

_****__********__- _Scans indicate all enemy ships have disengaged and retreated from this solar system.

_****__********__- _'The Citadel' is vulnerable.

_** Yes. NOW SHEPARD DIES!**_

* * *

**(1)** Even Harbinger is not invincible. However being the leader of the Reapers it seems only appropriate he would be the most powerful as I demonstrate later in this chapter.

**(2)** Here I thought it would be interesting to offer Harbingers own back story and his interpretation of the events that lead to all of this.

**(3)** Once again I wanted to illustrate how the Reapers greatest flaw is their pride and arrogance.

**(4)** If 'The Catalyst' was so intelligent and all knowing why couldn't he come up with a solution to the chaos of the Galaxy without our help? The only possible explanation could be if it was being hidden from him.

**(5)** Being as ego-maniacal as he was in Mass Effect 2 it makes sense that Harbinger would concoct such a plan with him being the center of it all.

**(6)** This is again answering the question as to what the purpose of the Human Reaper was in Mass Effect 2.

**(7)** It never made sense to me why if TIM was indoctrinated by a Reaper artifact long before the events of Mass Effect 2 that he would willingly help Shepard in his fight against 'The Collectors'. Unless he was resisting the indoctrination and it was only through this act of defiance that Harbinger finally decided to be more forceful with him in order to gain control of him during the events of Mass Effect 3.

**(8)** I hope that here I have successfully put across how Harbinger is different from all the other Reapers. Even to go so far as having an actual personality and basic emotions, even if it is a genocidal, megalomaniac and egocentric personality, and that this in turn is what leads to his downfall.

**(9)** Only someone who had a death wish would continue to walk towards an energy conduit that they shooting at and hoping to destroy. Yet another contrived plot point that was simply done to make it seem like Shepard died and increase the drama of the moment.

**(10)** At the end of the conversation with Vendetta it sounded like he was supposed to interface with the 'Crucible'. But after you meet him again at Cerberus Headquarters we never hear from him again. So now I have used this new VI to facilitate this same purpose and for those of you paying attention yes this is the same VI that was in charge of bringing 'The Crucible' into dock earlier.

**(11)** This Prothean VI perfectly illustrates what 'The Catalyst' was talking about earlier. Proving that he was not entirely wrong in his assumption that some organic's do seek to destroy that which they cannot control or understand.

**(12)** The entire fleet's departure from the sol system actually did make sense in the Extended Cut as it was logical to assume that anything that was powerful enough to kill the Reapers would also be a threat to them as well.

**(13)** Now here we find out what happened to all the residents of the Citadel. Something else that is never addressed in the game.

**(14)** Here is how I assume the invasion and capture of 'The Citadel' would have played out.

**(15)** Here I have given a purpose to all those war assets and defenses that I setup on 'The Citadel'.

**(16)** I wanted to give Harbinger a proper send off. Not just a cameo where he says hi to Shepard and then leaves and is never seen again. So here it is Harbinger's pure hatred and malevolence which are keeping him alive just long enough to have one last confrontation with Shepard.

* * *

I will try to upload the next chapter before the new year depending on how much time I have over Christmas between family gatherings and playing with my new present's so in case I don't manage to upload another chapter before then have a Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New year!

And as always please leave a review telling me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Notes:**

Hello everyone. First off I'm really sorry I haven't posted for a while. Life, along with a combination of University work and writers block has led to me going AWOL for a while.

But then couple of days ago I played the Citadel dlc and was suddenly inspired to write again. I loved the send-off at the end of the Citadel dlc and am not ashamed to admit that I cried at the last conversation between Shepard and Miri.

That inspired me to finish this and give them the happy ending that they both deserved.

Warning Citadel dlc spoiler ahead!:

A few things still bugged me about that dlc though. For instance that Miranda doesn't join you until the part after the main quest is finished or the fact that since she has rescued her sister; at least she had at the point in the story where I played the dlc she had no reason not to come with you and be a permanent squad mate.

Would it really have been so had to make her a squad member especially since you can take her into the new combat arena?

So in this chapter I have altered the main storyline just a little bit. Nothing major but I have just changed it so that Miri joined Shepard in his assault on the Illusive man's base.

So now with that out of the way here we go. The final confrontation with Shepard and Harbinger. I hope you enjoy it and as always please like favorite and leave a review telling me what you think.

* * *

**Urdnot Grunt**

**Location: Earth**

**London**

On the Earth a Banshee screeched into the night before taking a large mass accelerator slug to the face from Urdnot Grunt's Claymore shotgun.

"Ha!" he exclaimed revelling in the fight as he and Urdnot Wrex fought side by side obliterating everything in their path.

"That was a good fight!" He said, with the Krogan equivalent of a gleeful smile on his face, to his clan leader and brother in arms.

"Yeah. Not bad junior, you're nearly as good as me!" Wrex replied in his own deep voice.

Upon seeing a dozen more husks, two Brutes and a Banshee head their way he then asked "Ready for the next round?"

"Always." Grunt said with his usual low chuckle.

Once again they charged into battle knocking the smaller husks aside with their bare hands alone.

Wrex tackled a Brute toppling it to the ground before then proceeding to empty the contents of his shotgun into its head and chest before moving on to face the second brute using a biotic barrier to protect himself from enemy fire.

Meanwhile Grunt proceeded to block a swipe from the Banshees deadly sharp claws using his shotgun to deflect the attack before then proceeding to jab the bayonet at the end of his weapon into her chest. He then unloaded two shots into its belly cutting the husk in half. Seeing that the creature was still alive he pulled out his shotgun from its body brought it up to its face and unleashed a final round into its head.

The headless corpse fell to the ground. Looking up he saw Wrex giving him an approving glance having already killed the second Brute, its body lying behind him missing an arm.

The two of them had been fighting like this for hours and it was getting more intense by the minuet. They were on their own now having been separated from the rest of their squad while making their way to 'The Conduit' beam to try and help the remains of Hammer squad.

Now they were cornered in a back alley holding off wave after wave of relentless enemies. They couldn't be more than half a mile away from where the beam had used to be. But after Harbinger had descended and supposedly wiped out all of Hammer they had gotten no response to any of their hails. They were on their own now.

More and more Husks were starting to come down the alleyway. Once again the two Krogan prepared themselves to fight.

Then out of nowhere the sky suddenly began to light up. It got more and more intense until a massive wave of energy poured down the alleyway from behind the Krogan. Passing through the two warriors the wave vaporized all the husks in front of them before continuing off into the horizon.

In the distance Grunt could make out the unmistakable forms of several Reaper Capital ships getting hit by the wave as it passed through them too and continued off into the distance. White tendrils of energy coiled around the towering behemoths before they slowly began to topple and fall to the ground almost gracefully, finally coming to a halt with an almighty crash as they hit the Earth with a definitive sense of finality.

And then there was nothing but silence. No more screeches coming from the husks. No droning from the Reaper's ships. Nothing but silence.

Then faintly at first before it began to gather in strength another cry started to erupt in the night. But this was no screech of a husk or drone of a Reaper. This was a cry filled with hope, with relief, with victory! It was growing louder as more and more people in the distance joined in.

It was over. They had won. The Reapers, the Husks, they were all dead.

And at the sight of this all Wrex did was smile and quietly say "Shepard."

Grunt instantly knew what Wrex meant. It wasn't' a statement; it was fact. Shepard and had done this. No one else could have. His old battlemaster had destroyed the Reapers. This would be a victory that no one would ever be able to match.

With a smile on his own face Grunt echoed his clan leader's statement as he looked up into the sky towards the source of bright light that was now receding once more.

"Shepard." He said echoing Wrex's statement with a small laugh of his own.

* * *

**Miranda Lawson**

**Location: Earth**

**London**

Miranda would never have thought she would stand where she was now when she joined Cerberus all those years ago.

Back then she thought that she knew everything. That humanity would have to stand on its own if it was to survive. That aliens couldn't be relied on. That when push came to shove they would abandon them to the wolves, in order to fend for themselves. She wasn't xenophobic by any stretch of the imagination. She had simply believed that every species would look after the welfare of its own before considering helping any others. That in order to survive Humanity would have to do the same and she had in some respects been right. But at the same time she had also been very wrong.

Because right now here she stood side by side with a Geth Prime, a Quarian engineer, four Alliance Marines, three Turian's and a Krogan.

Some of these species were supposed to be mortal enemies, but here they were all fighting together for a world that was not even their own. It was remarkable. Just like the man who had brought them all together.

John. She hoped he was alright. The last communications from Major Coats had said that 'The Conduit' to 'The Citadel' had been shut off and that most of Hammer had been wiped out. She had even seen Harbinger take off in the distance once its work was done.

That news had been devastating and nearly overwhelmed her before she quickly pushed her emotions down and refused to let them take control. Being in the middle of battleground wasn't the time or place for her to fall apart. If she did she knew she would lose her focus and die and dying was not acceptable.

Instead she tried to maintain her usual cool exterior even if underneath she was broiling with emotion.

She and her new comrades were on their way to try and render whatever assistance they could to the remains of Hammer. Hopefully she would find John among the living. If not… the alternative was too painful to think about.

She had never even told him that she… **(1)**

Why hadn't she told him before all this?

Because she had been afraid.

Why hadn't she told him over that damned communicator?

Because she had wanted to do it face to face, but now… No! She wasn't going to think like that.

John was alive and she was going to get her chance to tell him how she felt. If anyone could survive a direct attack from a Reaper it was him. If he'd done it at the Collector base and again on Rannoch he could do it a third time.

Returning her mind to the task at hand she shot a husk that was getting too close to one of her companions once in each leg crippling it before placing a final shot that ended its miserable existence in the head. She then quickly used her biotic's to crush two others with a slam and then proceeded to overload the shields of a Marauder with an EMP blast from her omni-tool whose head was then promptly taken off by one of the Turian sniper's in her group.

He gave her an approving nod which she returned as she simultaneously ejected a thermal clip from her pistol and loaded in a new one with practiced proficiency.

As she and her team moved forward her mind quickly ran through the events that had led to this moment for the fifth time trying to see if she could have done anything different.

After her fight with Kai Leng, killing her father and rescuing Oriana she had taken her sister to 'The Citadel' and then reunited with Shepard while he was on shore leave as the Normandy was being overhauled for the final battle everyone knew was coming. Whilst there she had helped him and the rest of his squad stop his clone and rescue the Normandy. Then they had all shared in that one last party which now seemed to have happened in another lifetime.

A faint smiled crossed her face as she remembered that night. It was one of the best nights of her life. In fact most of the best moments of her life had been on the Normandy with Shepard and his crew.

After that party she had finally re-joined the Normandy. Now that her sister was safe there was no reason for her not to. From 'The Citadel' Miranda had booked passage for Oriana to the station where the Crucible had been built. She was now safely on board one of the civilian ships surrounding it and for that Miranda was thankful especially now that 'The Citadel' was in Reaper hands.

She had regretted not joining John sooner but he had with his typical good grace understood and said that what was important was that she was there now.

When she had offered her help to the Alliance Admiral Hackett had, with some encouragement and reassurances from John; accepted her Intel and assistance, which had led to the shut down several Cerberus facilities in addition to the ones she had previously raided in her campaign to stop her father and Cerberus.

She had then accompanied Shepard in the assault on the Illusive man's base and was quite glad to see it put out of action. That place had become nothing more than a festering pit of suffering, but at the same time she couldn't quite believe how low the Illusive man had fallen, nor how lucky she had been to escape a similar fate to the soldiers she was now fighting against.

Then just when it seemed they might finally find 'The Catalyst' and end this war the Illusive man had once again appeared and ruined everything. He'd given the Reapers 'The Citadel' and forced them into this final desperate assault.

She had gotten separated from John when he and his team had been forced to reroute their shuttle to eliminate that Reaper Hades cannon and as a result they had once again become separated from one another and arrived at different FOB's. There was no time for them to regroup what with everything else that had been happening so they had arranged to meet up at 'The Conduit' unfortunately her squad had been heavily waylaid by Reaper forces and unable to reach 'The Conduit' in time.

All of this flashed through Miranda's head as she was brought back to the present by the sound of more gun fire.

Taking cover and preparing for another desperate and brutal fight, this time with several Ravagers.

Suddenly there was a howl coming from up above and a Reaper destroyer descended towards them its red glowing and preparing to wipe all of them from the face of the Earth.

Staring into that monstrous red light Miranda's thoughts turned to Shepard and all the words that they had never said to each other.

"I'm so sorry John." She whispered.

Then the night sky suddenly began to light up drawing the attention of the entire world. Even the Reaper in front of her turned its head to face this new phenomenon.

The night sky was filled with this overwhelming bright with light.

Miranda's scientific mind tried to make sense of what was happening. It was too early for the sun to be rising and this light wasn't orange color of Sol but pure white.

As the light continued to expand and grow even larger in the sky she quickly saw it coalesce into a wave of immense energy. It passed through the Big Ben clock tower leaving it untouched and then it then suddenly was upon them.

It passed through Miranda and she felt nothing but a pleasant warmth from it. But when it reached the husks in front of her they howled for a brief second before disintegrating right in front of her eyes.

The Reaper destroyer too made a huge drone as if it was feeling some indescribable agony for the first time in its wretched existence before its droning ceased and it collapsed to the ground dead.

In the distance other Reaper's where falling out of the sky and hitting the Earth and then the light was gone. It was over.

For a single moment everyone in the group was silent, and then the Krogan let out a missive bellow of triumph. He was quickly followed by the Turinan's and Alliance marines until everyone was cheering into the night sky. All except for Miranda and the Geth prime.

Upon seeing this the Quarian engineer walked over to the Geth platform and asked "Are you alright?"

"I am un-damaged." Replied the Geth, which had taken the name Series, with mechanical efficiency before continuing to say. "Your concern is appreciated however creator Faldin."

Miranda meanwhile registered all of this in the back of her mind simply staring at where the source of the light had come from.

"John." She whispered quietly to herself with a small smile.

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel**

**Master control unit**

_"- Primary Firing sequence completed."_

_"- Preparing to initiate secondary firing sequence." s_aid the VI.

"Wait." I said "You mean that's not it? What's the secondary firing sequence?"

_"The Crucible has eliminated all Reaper Forces within the immediate vicinity of 'The Citadel' and the celestial body it is currently orbiting. It must now destroy all the other Reapers spread across the Galaxy."_

"How?"

_"The Crucible will now target the nearest mass relay and fire your specified energy pattern into it. It will then use the relay network to transmit the blast wave throughout the entire galaxy."_

"Then do it!" I cried.

_"Preparing to fire now. This will take several seconds and you must activate the sequence by once again utilizing the manual interface in front of you."_

Suddenly before I could do so a cry echoed throughout the chamber in Harbingers unmistakable voice _"**SHEPARD!"**_

"You've got to be kidding me!" I said "I thought you just said 'The Crucible' had killed all the Reapers near the Citadel."

_"It should have."_ replied the VI in its usual even tone. _"Many of our scientists however did believe that there was a possibility that Harbinger was different from all other Reapers and henceforth may be resistant to 'The Crucible'."_

_**"Shepard."**_ Harbinger continued to rant all the while _**"Did you think you could be rid of me so easily? That you could stop me? My power is unmatched! And now you will experience it first hand as I cleanse this galaxy of your filth!"**_

I would believe what I was hearing. Harbinger just would not die! That was it. It was time to end that monster once and for all!

_"- Alert the Reaper designated as Harbinger is approaching. All allied forces have retreated from this solar system. We are vulnerable. Organic Operator you must active the secondary firing sequence before Harbinger destroys us."_

"No wait!" I cried "Where is Harbinger? Show me his location in relation to 'The Citadel'."

The holographic avatar of the Prothean in front of me disappeared and was replaced by a map showing 'The Citadel' and Harbinger. I could see that he had been badly damaged but even so he was still moving forward. Slowly but surely Harbinger was drawing closer approaching The Citadel tower just like Sovereign had three years ago.

"Now show me the direction this beam of energy will take." I ordered. The VI complied showing the path the energy would take as a solid line shooting off into the distance coming straight out from the citadel tower. A path that Harbinger was unknowingly flying straight into.

Yes! This could work.

_"Organic Operator what are you doing?"_ Asked the VI for the first time some level of irritation entering its voice. _"Activate 'The Crucible's' secondary firing sequence before we are destroyed!"_

"Not yet!" I said "I'm just going to hold fire for a few more seconds. If we can get him in range of the beam we can kill two birds with one stone! Come on Harbinger." I shouted into the air not knowing if he could hear me but I didn't care at this point. It felt good to goad him for a change. "It's just you and me now. You and me! This is what you want isn't it? I think we both knew it would end like this. **(2)** Well I'm right here. Come and get me!"

Oblivious to the danger it was in from either its own arrogance or rage Harbinger obliged and got closer and closer. Just a few more seconds and he would be in range!

Then I felt a small tingling in the back of my skull as my biotic amp began to flare and suddenly I wasn't in 'The Citadel' master control room anymore.

PAIN! AGONY! That was all I felt. Nothing else existed but blackness. I was suffocating, fighting for breath.

_**"Struggle if you wish. I told you Shepard. Your mind will be mine!"**_

I could hear Harbingers voice but this time it was coming from inside my own head. What was happening? Then fear ripped through me.

Indoctrination.

I should have known from all the fighting I had done against the Reapers. All the encounters with their artifacts, it would only be a matter of time before I was susceptible.

But why now? Why did I have to succumb now when I was so close to the end?

I fought Harbinger with every ounce of my will.

"NO!" I screamed into the darkness. Not yet! NOT YET! I just needed a few more seconds and this could all be over.

But it was no use. I was already spent. My body was numb and my mind was burning up. There was nothing I could do. I had nothing left to give. I could feel Harbingers presence slowly surrounding mine and strangling the life out of me.

My head was filled with a million screaming voices each one crying out in agony. Agony which I could feel. It was blotting out everything else. I couldn't remember anything. Why was I fighting? Why was I resisting? Surly death was better than this never ending pain.

_**"This hurts you!"**_ Harbinger cried with what I could tell was pleasure.

Desperate to escape the pain I searched for anything, any remaining scrap of strength that I had left. Then I found it. One last spark of hope in the dark.

_**"Hope is irrelevant."**_

I tried to focus on it. Slowly I came to realize that it was a memory.

_**"Before me you are nothing!"**_ Harbinger gloated trying to finish me off but my mind latched onto that spark and refused to let it be snuffed out. Eventually I remembered which memory it was. It was that night on 'The Citadel'. The end of the party that me and my crew had all shared together.

_**"Irrelevant. You have failed them Shepard."**_

But I could sense something more in Harbingers voice now. The tiniest traces of fear. I focused in on this one thought and then I could see it as clear as day. There I was on the couch next to Miranda. My arm around her shoulders and her with the most perfect smile on her face. And all around the two of us was the new family I had made as we all gathered together for our picture.

_**"You are alone now Shepard. Without them you are nothing. Just as they will soon be nothing."**_

But Harbinger was wrong. Just because they weren't with me now didn't mean that I was weak. Because it was them I fought for and that gave me more strength than anything else ever could.

"I'm not alone." I whispered onto the dark "I never have been."

Slowly at first but faster and faster with growing strength I began to push out against the suffocating weight that had been crushing me.

_**"No! My power is unmatched!"**_

"Not anymore. Your time is over! Now you're nothing now but a broken shell." I spat into the blackness as I continued to fight back against the Reapers foul rotting presence.

_**"You are but dust struggling against cosmic winds!"**_

"Then why am I winning? And why are you afraid?"

_**"DIE SHEPARD!"**_

"NO! Today you die!"

_**IMPOSSIBLE. SHEPARD HOW DO YOU RESIST ME? WHY WILL YOU NOT DIE?**_

"Because I have something that can't be taken or destroyed. Something that you will never understand. People who are worth living for."

And with one final push, like a splinter being removed from my mind, suddenly the darkness was gone and I could see again. I was back in the control room my hands hovering inches away from the controls. Harbinger was directly over the path of the Crucible's beam.

Grasping both controls again I shouted at the Prothean VI "NOW! FIRE!"

Again energy began to build around the tower of the Presidium and continued until it reached critical mass and fired a massive beam out from the Citadel tower into deep space and straight into Harbinger. For one second the Reaper glowed as the white light tore through its already crippled body until finally the monster was destroyed just like its brethren. Nothing was left of Harbinger's body accept pieces of shrapnel. He was completely obliterated.

But the beam didn't stop at Harbinger. It continued on to the Charon Mass Relay striking its element zero core. The normal light blue color of the core changed to pure white and the containment rings began to rotate faster and faster until they suddenly come to a violent stop and unleashed another blast of energy throughout this solar system while sending the rest onto the next Mass Relay.

The Charon Relay's core arms then grew still as its power source was consumed and expended. **(3)**

This phenomenon continued across the galaxy moving faster than the speed of light until every relay in the network was affected. And for one moment this white light shone from every corner of the galaxy.

It tore across worlds leaving everything upon them untouched except for the Reapers who fell like birds from the sky crashing down upon world after world to the cries of victory across the galaxy. Armies of husks were vaporised in seconds their shrieks finally being silenced.

And so it was that one word echoed out across the galaxy as the Reapers fell. From Earth and 'The Citadel' to Thessia, Tuchanka and Palavan, across Illium and Omega all the way to Rannock.

One word was uttered at that moment of victory. One word that was the very embodiment of heroism and hope for the new future that had been won.

One word that was the name of the man who would forever be remembered as the bane of the Reapers and the savour of the galaxy.

And that word… was Shepard. **(4)**

* * *

**Miranda Lawson**

**Location: Earth**

**London**

While everyone else was busy celebrating Miranda was already planning her next moves. First she had to get back to the nearest FOB that had a working shuttle and then she needed to get to the Citadel and find John.

Quickly but carefully Miranda and the rest of the squad had finally made it to the Conduit site not encountering a single husk along the way.

But when they finally reached the field that Harbinger had laid waste to they met a grisly site. Hundreds of charred remains of both vehicles and people littered the open expanse before them.

Dozens of teams where now picking through the remains for survivors but those were few and far between. Harbinger had been merciless and efficient in his attack.

Leaving the rest of her companions now who had already started to assist the recovery teams Miranda quickly grabbed a passing young Alliance Marine and said "Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Commander Shepard?"

The young man only gawked at her his eye's running over her body which even in her modified battle armour still gave a good impression of her beauty.

She sighed at this. There were times when her body was an asset and times when it could get in the way of people telling her what she wanted to know. It seemed that now was going to be one of those times. It always annoyed her when men just gawked at her, Shepard never gawked at her; he always looked at her with quiet appreciation.

Gently shaking the young marine she said again in a more firm and louder voice. "I said do you know where Commander Shepard is?"

Finally finding his voice he said "You know the Commander?"

Getting irritated with this man she said "Yes he's he and I are… friends" only slightly hesitating for a second before continuing "and I think he'd be very angry if you were to keep me waiting."

"Sorry sir... I mean mam." he said offering a quick salute forgetting that she wasn't in an alliance uniform. Guess any friend of the Commanders was due some respect.

" Ah… well … umm… you see... I don't… that is… I don't know where the commander is… but Major Coats might."

Major Coat's! Finally someone in charge. "Alright where's he?" Miranda asked.

"Over here. I'll take you to him."

"Thank you." She said.

The marine quickly led her to a makeshift forward operations base. Where she could hear the sound of a man with a deep English accent issuing orders.

"…and once we've finished here I want those shuttles to be used for the immediate evacuation of all critically wounded personnel then…Yes what you want Corporal?"

"Sir." said Miranda's guide "I have a friend of Commander Shepard's here. She wants to know where she can find him."

"Huh.. good question." said the man who Miranda presumed was Major Coats.

"That will be all Corporal." Coats said dismissing Miranda's guide before turning to her "So you're a friend of the commander's huh?"

"Yes and I'd like to know what happened to him?" she replied.

"Well, as far as we known he's on 'The Citadel' and is directly responsible for saving our asses."

"The last reports I heard were that no one made it to 'The Citadel' thanks to Harbinger." inquired Miranda.

"Well their partially right. That bastard wiped out almost our entire unit and then shut off 'The Conduit' beam but just before he did I spotted the Commander and Admiral Anderson through my scope making it into the beam before it shut down."

The major shook his head. Before continuing to say "I've never seen anything like it. Harbinger singled out Shepard and fired directly at him. Thought he was done for, especially when that monster left him for dead. But then I saw Shepard get up and limp towards the beam. He looked like death warmed up. But he just kept going, killed all the husks in his way and then disappeared into the beam. Anderson was right behind him. I saw him push his way out from under the remains of some crashed gunship and follow Shepard up. I'm guessing that light in the sky was their doing. I guess some of the stories they say about those two are true."

"You don't' know the half of it." Miranda replied. "What about the rest of the Normandy Crew?" She'd gotten to know a lot of them during her time aboard and even counted some of them as her friends even if they weren't close friends.

"They were badly injured in the attack but they were evacuated in the ship and as far as we know have regrouped with the rest of Sword and Shield fleets in the Andromeda solar system at the designated rendezvous point.

She felt a small amount of relief at hearing that. "Finally some good news." She said "What about Shepard? Has there been any contact with him since 'The Crucible' fired?"

"No none. But we are getting a ton of distress signals coming from the station so there are defiantly some people alive up there."

This news worried Miranda she had a terrible feeling that John was injured and in need of medical attention.

"Then we need to get some ships sent up their right away to find him." She said

"I agree. Once the medical evac ships get here we are going to send some up to 'The Citadel' for immediate search and rescue."

"I'd like to be on one of those ships." Miranda requested.

But before the Major could reply suddenly there was a commotion off to their right.

"Out of the way. Who's in charge here?" said Wrex in his deep voice pushing aside three guards attempting to bar his way.

"Wrex." said Miranda in surprise. She hadn't expected to see the Krogan leader again so soon.

The Krogan looked at her for a second before realising who she was.

"Well if it isn't Shepard's mate." He said. **(5)**

Miranda couldn't help but quietly groan as she felt all eyes in the room turn on her.

Fixing the Krogan with an icy stare that only made Wrex smile even more she said in a resigned tone "Could you have possibly said that any louder?"

"Ooops." said the Krogan. "Was that supposed to be a secret?"

"Not anymore I guess." She said in a resigned voice.

"Thought you'd be proud to be joined with the warrior who just killed 'The Reapers' and saved the galaxy for the hundredth time." said another Krogan next to Wrex who she realised was Grunt. Once again he was practically covered from head to toe in Husk blood.

"I am Grunt. But you've got a lot to learn about human customs. Respect for ones privacy for instance." She replied.

All Grunt did was give his signature low chuckle.

"So what's going on?" asked Wrex.

"I was just requesting a shuttle to go up to the Citadel and find John. Major Coats hear tells me he was badly wounded by Harbinger." said Miranda.

"Well then what are we standing around here for? Time to repay the favour to Shepard for saving my people twice over." said the Krogan Leader.

"Hang on a second. We can't allow all of you to just take one of our shuttles and do whatever you please with it." said a women to the right of Major Coats. Presumably his second in command. "None of you are even in the Alliance you can't just..."

Before she even finished that sentence Miranda walked up to the two senior officers flanked by both Wrex and Grunt and said in a deadly voice barely above a whisper.

"You listen to me. You will give us a shuttle or we'll take one."

Backing up her statement Grunt said "That's my battle master up there and I won't abandon him now."

"Shepard is a hero to my people and if he dies because you refused to help us I'll kill you myself." said Wrex.

Before the situation could develop any further Major Coats stepped in "Everyone settle down now." He said "We just finished one war today I'd rather not start another. We're all on the same team here so why don't we all just calm down and take a deep breath. Lieutenant give them what they want."

"But sir…"

"Do you want to be responsible for the death of Commander Shepard?" asked Coats.

Grudgingly she said "No sir."

"Then give them access to a medical shuttle."

"Yes sir."

"Good answer." said Miranda backing up slightly.

"Corporal take them to the designated LZ." The Major said to one of the marine's nearby.

Whilst he did so Wrex turned to Miranda and said "Huh, you remind me of Shepard a bit. They were fools to try and piss you off."

With a small smile of her own she said "Thank you Wrex. Coming from you I shall consider that a compliment."

* * *

**Commander John Lewis Shepard**

**Location: The Citadel**

**Master control unit**

_- Secondary firing sequence completed._

_- All specified targets have been eliminated._

_- My purpose has been fulfilled._

_- The Reapers have been defeated._

_- 'Crucible' powering down._

Its oceans of element zero depleted 'The Crucible' then grew quiet and inert its purpose finally fulfilled millennium after first being designed. **(6)**

And with that the Prothean VI disappeared.

Upon hearing those words I let go of the two electrodes' that had now to grown inert and collapsed on the floor in front of the control unit. Partly from exhaustion, partly from disbelief. It was now over finally after all this time. The Reapers where dead and gone, never would they threaten this galaxy again.

Now… now I could sleep. It had been so long since I had had a decent night's sleep…

As I closed my eyes for a well-deserved rest I saw the faces of all my friends once more.

They were all looking down at me with approval on their faces gently nodding or smiling at me.

I saw them all:

Jenkins

Pressley

Kaidan

Ashley

Wrex

Grunt

Eve

Jacob

Jack

Za'eed

Kasum

Vega

Javik

Samara

Traynor

Cortez

Kelly

Gabby and Ken,

Engineer Adam's

Dr Chakwas

Mordin

Thane

Legion

Anderson

Joker

EDI

Tali

Liara

Garrus

Miranda…

I remember distinctly that Miranda was the last face I saw. Smiling down at me.

I smiled back… it was strange… she looked so real… it sounded like she was calling me … but I was so tired now. So tired … But just before I closed my eyes I could swear that she was right there standing over me…

**To be continued...**

* * *

**(1)** Damn it Miranda by the time I'm through you will!

**(2)** So did we all. Shame it didn't.

**(3)** Even with the relays only damaged instead of being destroyed the resources required to fix them would be enormous and most likely impossible for the galaxy to achieve in its post war condition. So instead I have made it so that only the eezo cores have been expended. All the Relays now need is a jump start.

**(4)** And so a Legend is born.**  
**

**(5)** I love Wrex. I could just imagine him saying something like this.

**(6)** Finally here I have made it so that 'The Crucible' does not explode as there is no way Shepard would have been able to survive that seeing as how he was directly underneath it. This also means that 'The Citadel' wont be as badly damaged as we saw it was in the Extended cut.

* * *

And there you have it. The fight is over. Now I just need to put several epilogue chapters in and its done!

As for the next chapter don't worry I have a time frame in place. It will be out some time before Half Life 3. ;)

And as always please don't forget to leave a review!


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